Kickoff (Cape Town)
1 September 2008
Ghana's participation in the 2006 World Cup is under an unpleasant scrutiny after a Canadian author published a book claiming that the second round clash with Brazil was fixed.
Journalist Declan Hill writing in the book 'The Fix' says an Asian betting syndicate influenced the result which led to the Black Stars 3-0 defeat at the hands of the South Americans.
According to a report to be serialised in the German magazine Spiegel from Monday, former Ghana international goalkeeper Abubakari Damba was used to influence the players during the tournament in Germany.
Other German league matches were also named in the allegation by the Canadian writer and the German Football Federation (DFB) has promised to investigate the issue thoroughly, but said they do not believe there are grounds for concern.
"The Football League and DFB have no reason to believe that the named games were manipulated," read a joint press release.
"As soon as these suspicions arose, League president Dr Reinhard Rauball and DFB president Dr Theo Zwanziger emphasised that both associations will be seeking a thorough explanation and will punish any proven wrong-doer with all the means possible.
"The company Sportradar has been asked to analyse the named games."
The revelation in the book makes uncomfortable reading for the Ghana football authorities, who sacked Damba last year for attempting to fix an international friendly.
Damba, who was the Olympic goalkeepers' trainer, was accused by some players of the team of approaching them with US$6,000 to throw the game against Iran in Tehran.
He was subsequently investigated by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and found to have been linked with an Asian betting syndicate.
The GFA will issue a statement to deny the Black Stars involvement in any match fixing during the tournament in Germany.
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