When a journalist concocts quotes…

Jerome Otchere says wrong quotes were attributed to him.

Last Saturday morning as the soothing hands of a pretty massage therapist moved gently on my back at East Legon, Accra, 24hours before my first wedding anniversary, I saw my mobile phone ringing. In order not to be disturbed, I put the phone on silence and under the massage table.

I picked the phone after an hour to see 88 missed calls. I was totally shocked. Why I would have that number of calls within an hour sent me thinking. Never had I seen that number of missed calls on my cell phone. I kept wondering why. I went through the missed calls list and easily, I suspected something was wrong relative to Kotoko.

Among my missed calls were phone numbers of some of the powers that be Kotoko as well as presenters and producers of sports programmes from more than ten Kumasi radio (FM) stations. One of the first numbers in the list was that of General Manager, Opoku Nti.

“What’s wrong sir?” I asked as he answered my call to his phone. “I’ve seen numerous missed calls on my phone including yours. Has anything happened?” I asked again. “Have you granted any interview on management, describing us as incompetent?” Opoku Nti demanded. My quick response was an emphatic no.

“I know you won’t pass such a comment” he continued. “But that is the report in Kumasi and that’s why I called you. Perhaps the radio stations have been calling you because of that. I’ve heard some of them discussing the supposed interview you granted” Opoku Nti added.

I made a series of telephone calls including one to Communications Manager, Kwaku Ahenkorah. I indeed got to know of reports that, I’ve granted an interview to Thomas Freeman Yeboah of Allsports.com.gh, saying: “The bane of [Kotoko] is the incompetency of the current management…”

I was amazed. In fact, my amazement shot up when I read the story myself. I had neither spoken to the writer of the story nor any media house making that statement. I called Freeman, who is a friend. He conceded he’s not spoken to me but he claimed, I had spoken either on Kessben FM or Fox FM, when in fact, I’ve not spoken any of these FM stations saying what he courageously quoted me as saying.

Freeman, later told me my comment on the current management were on a recording in his possession. I was still amazed. How Freeman could make those claims against me? I allowed him and demanded a copy of the recording. It turned out that, even though he had a recording of an interview I did with a television station April 5, 2015 after Kotoko lost 2-1 to Eulma in the Champions League, the quotes he attributed to me were fabricated if not imagined.

I spoke in clear English. So why did Freeman quote me wrongly? I accept his private apology. I say private because his media house promised to publish an apology but as of the time of writing this article, that had not be done. I acknowledge my brother and editor of Allsports.com.gh, Dr. Godfred Akoto’s decision to pull down the concocted story immediately it was established that his reporter attributed wrong quotes to me.

If I had said what Freeman quoted me as saying, they wouldn’t have done that. The ease with which the story was deleted from the respected website is worth commending but the absence of their apology nearly 72 hours after the publication is unfortunate. I’ve restrained myself from descending on Freeman purely because of friendship but next time, I will not.

The quotes he used weren’t what was captured in the recording. Why he went ahead to write all that he wrote confounds me. I can’t tell whether what Freeman did was deliberate. I can’t explain what his motives were but his was a horrible, unpardonable error.  

I won’t assume a Journalism-Teacher position to teach Freeman anything but I will advise him: next time he shouldn’t forget that, paraphrasing one’s thoughts isn’t the same as quoting. I accept his private apology because I'm human and I'm a journalist too. I also make mistakes but please, Freeman, quotes are quotes. They are exactly what have been said and not anything else.

Promoting the local league: clubs must sit up

Spokesman for the GFA, Ibrahim Sannie Daara.

Spokesman for the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Ibrahim Sannie Daara earlier this week, gave the media and local football enthusiasts something to munch. Sannie Daara reportedly said that, it wasn’t the FA’s duty to promote the domestic league. As the FA’s communications chief, Sannie is himself newsman. He has recently been making news headlines either for the right or wrong reason depending on one’s view of him and what he says or does.

It was therefore no surprise that, Sannie’s take on the promotion of the domestic league received extensive review. "The promotion of the league itself is the duty of the clubs....It’s the duty of the clubs…The Federation itself does not own players…If you want to promote the league, you don't use the Federation" Sannie said in a Ghanasportsonline.com report.

I side with him. I agree with Sannie because for a long time, some people seem to have developed this habit of blaming the GFA for almost every wrong thing associated with our domestic league, forgetting that, whether or not the domestic league is promoted and ultimately develops, depends so much on the decisions all stakeholders take.

The critical yet singular decisions or actions of all stakeholders collectively impact, either negatively or positively on the domestic league. It can’t only be what the GFA does. Where Sannie must have missed the point or what he lost sight of is the fact that, the association he speaks for; as the only body mandated to run Ghana football, also have crucial roles to play.

I didn’t get that sense in Sannie’s interview. If Sannie had probably made it clear that, the promotion and largely the development of the domestic league was a shared responsibility between the GFA and all other stakeholders, his remarks wouldn’t have generated huge debate. In promoting and developing the domestic league, I see the FA and its affiliates as facilitators who should provide a congenial environment for the game to thrive.

When they as facilitators renege on their responsibilities, we will then have questions to ask them. At this stage, it’s not entirely correct to suggest that, the GFA has not done enough in promoting and developing the domestic league as some commentators attempted to do.

There’s more room for improvement and to make that assertion isn’t equal to saying that, the GFA hasn’t done anything or that they have failed Ghanaians on their promise to promote and develop the domestic league. Efforts by the GFA to lift the general outlook of the local game ought to be appreciated. Examples abound of actions taken by the GFA to improve the quality of the local league. These examples have been overstated. They have indeed become trite.

But mention can be made of sponsorship for instance. Only last season, the league kicked off without a sponsor yet before the curtains were drawn on the season, First Capital Plus Bank came on board. Talk about the sale of television rights to Supersports, which ensured that, clubs received something small for the live telecast of matches clubs by the international satellite television network. Irrespective of how small the money was, the sort of relief it brought to clubs can’t be overlooked.

In addition, the club licensing stuff has been touted as one move that could positively alter the face our club football and with that, the GFA has been an excellent facilitator. It’s up to the clubs to organise themselves well to take advantage of all that the club licensing offers. Our clubs must at all times position themselves well enough to pick anything the GFA puts on the table otherwise the league will remain where it is.

I have constantly argued that, Ghanaian clubs have serious structural problems. They are administratively weak. Most of our clubs either have no decent offices and any identifiable policy direction. For most of our clubs, anything goes. I admit that, with the poor state of Ghana’s economy, clubs will definitely suffer when it comes to raising the necessary capital to finance their development or growth but if they are well-organised coupled with their resort to qualified personnel in various managerial positions, they would be better off. They may make the best out of the bad economic condition.

The current situation where anything is acceptable by our clubs doesn’t help their plight. It really doesn’t help the overall image of the domestic league and that one, we can’t put the blame on the doorstep of the GFA alone. When our club owners and managers recognize modern trends in the game, and decide to embrace them and work hard at achieving their objectives as spelt out in their programmes and policies, our league will be well promoted.

It will be well-promoted and developed because in that case, their good decisions and meaningful, well-intended actions combined with the input of FA will collectively have an impact on the image of the league.

Frequent jostle for Boardroom points...

FA Disciplinary Committee Chairman, Prosper Harrison Addo.

In Ghana’s’ domestic football leagues, there’s always a gush of joy that greets reports that, a club has won Board room points. Supporters of any club that wins a protest at the Disciplinary Committee of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) literarily throw a party while fans of the club that lost the protest get agitated especially when the points are crucial to their survival.

It may be said that, the emotions that go up and down in football fans following such news reports add to the fun surrounding the game but from my observation, that jostle for board room points isn’t helping the development of our g

ame. Before I’m misunderstood, let me quickly point out that, I’m not essentially against lodging protest to correct an anomaly.

What I’m finding difficult to see wisdom in is why the Ghana Football Association, take no action own its own to punish clubs immediately they flout regulations but rather wait until others protest. Is that the norm? It seems to me that, the FA isn’t or hasn’t done its work to expectation in instilling discipline in the system or stamping its authority on the game. This if not checked, could hamper the development of our domestic game.

Recently, Berekum Chelsea, after failing to pay WAFA an amount due them in the transfer of Solomon Asante, lost points when Kotoko filed a protest. Kotoko’s protest was in actual fact thrown out because the Disciplinary Committee ruled that Kotoko proceeded on a repealed regulation, which was strange. Kotoko was fined GHc3, 000.

Initially, I wondered why Kotoko could commit such a blunder but in a human institution that wasn’t unheard of. It was therefore necessary to let sleeping dogs lie on that issue. Later upon education by the Disciplinary Committee Chairman, Prosper Harrison Addo, and Lawyer Kweku Eyiah also of the GFA, I fully understood why Kotoko’s protest had no correct foundation.

What I’ve still not understood, despite the Disciplinary Committee’s explanation, is why the committee could dismiss Kotoko’s protest, calling it frivolous yet go on to adjudicate on the substantive issue. Simply put, Kotoko had no case but because Berekum Chelsea had erred for not paying WAFA as expected within a timeframe, the committee ruled that, they be docked points they have earned from match day five or from February 4, 2015.

Berekum Chelsea appealed the Disciplinary Committee’s ruling. Before they came out successfully with that appeal last Thursday, Kotoko and other clubs benefited from Chelsea’s initial loss. Thus Berekum Chelsea first sunk to the bottom of the league table. Kotoko then moved from 13th to 5th position but that changed last Thursday as Berekum Chelsea, having succeeded with their appeal, regained the 13 points they lost, coming back to 5th place.

My beef doesn’t lie necessarily with Berekum Chelsea’s success at the Appeals Committee. In fact, I thought it was cruel for them to lose that number of points since it essentially made them very good candidates for relegation even before the first round ended, although, I could hardly shed tears for them.

 

My beef is actually with why it had to take a club to initiate action against Berekum Chelsea over the Solomon Asante-WAFA saga to trigger an immediate response from the GFA. I stand for correction but does it always have to be so? Is that attitude by the GFA supported by law?

Recently, Hearts of Oak were said to have fielded an excess number of foreign players in a league match against Kotoko. It escaped many eyes but not that of a Premier League Board (PLB) official, Ashford Tetteh Oku, a former Administrative Manager of Hearts of Oak. He noticed that anomaly but never talked about it until it was too late for any protest. Why did he do that? For his selfish interest or in the interest of Ghana football?

The man didn’t do Ghana football any good with that. In case that attitude of ignoring potential disciplinary issues until someone brings it to the FA’s notice is backed by law; I argue that, that law should to be expunged from the books. It has served its usefulness. The earlier we acted in the supreme interest of Ghana football, the better. Discerning football fans are watching.