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| - Claim: Former Ghana FA boss Kwesi Nyantakyi’s life ban reduced to 12 years
Source: Nhyria FM
Verdict: Partly true
Researched by Rabiu Alhassan
Has the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced the life ban of the former Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kwesi Nyantakyi to 12 years?
That is the claim made by several news websites both local and international (here, here, here, here) and mainstream radio and TV platforms in Ghana (here, here )
According to the online reports attributed to Nhyria FM, a privately-owned radio station in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, the life ban was reduced following a successful appeal by the former GFA boss.
Life ban
Kwesi Nyantakyi was handed a life ban from all football-related activities by FIFA for breaking bribery and corruption rules in 2018.
“The adjudicatory chamber found Mr Nyantakyi guilty of having violated art. 19 (Conflicts of interest), art. 21 (Bribery and corruption) and art. 22 (Commission) of the FIFA Code of Ethics,” a statement from FIFA revealed.
He was also fined 500,000 Swiss Francs.
Cash gift
Nyantakyi, a former vice-president of the Confederation of African Football and a member of the Fifa Council was videoed allegedly accepting a $65,000 “cash gift” during an undercover investigation by journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
Fact-check
GhanaFact in seeking to verify the claims made in the online reports, sent an email to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to ascertain:
- Whether Ghana’s Former FA President [Kwesi Nyantakyi] has formally appealed his life ban?
- Whether the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has come to a determination and reduced the country’s former FA President’s life ban to 12 years?
On October 9, GhanaFact received a response from a Communications Officer at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Katy Hogg, confirming that Kwesi Nyantakyi filed an appeal on December 17, 2018 against the decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee.
According to CAS, the appeal was “partially upheld” and the decision rendered by the Adjudicatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee on 29 October 2018 was amended as follows:
- “Kwesi Nyantakyi is banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity at national and international level (administrative, sports or any other) for a period of fifteen (15) years, commencing on 29 October 2018.
- Kwesi Nyantakyi is fined the sum of CHF 100,000, to be paid within thirty (30) days of notification of the award.”
According to Katy Hogg, “the Arbitral Award is expected to be published in the CAS jurisprudence database in the coming weeks.”
Banned for how many years?
Two leading digital platforms in Ghana, Myjoyonline.com and Peacefmonline.com, currently have two contradictory stories on their platforms on how many years Kwesi Nyantakyi is supposed to serve his ban.
News website, Myjoyonline.com in an October 6 story published on the platform claimed the life ban was reduced to 12 years, but on October 9, another story was published claiming the ban has been reduced to 15 years.
The online portal, Peacefmonline.com also on October 6 published a story claiming the life ban was reduced to 12 years, but on October 12, another story has been published with a headline claiming the life ban has been reduced to 15 years.
Meanwhile, adomonline.com has since pulled down a story published on October 7, 2020, that claimed the former GFA boss has had his life ban reduced to 12 years.
Conclusion
The claim that former GFA President, Kwesi Nyantakyi has appealed his life ban from all football-related activities at both national and international level is true. But his life ban was reduced to 15 years and not 12 years as being reported.
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