Ghana Football Association (GFA) Executive Council member Dr Randy Abbey has admitted that the fight for responsible officiating could be effective if his colleague high ranking officials are honest enough not to interfere in officiating.
Abbey was assessing the performances of referees in the Ghana Premier League as well as their welfare as compared to previous years.
“It is about all of us. If we all agree that referees work independently, we can fully blame their poor performance on mistakes and incompetence and not because the person has been influenced,” he told Asempa FM.
“Those of us who play significant roles in running the game must equally be honest to ourselves and advise ourselves that it is in our collective interest that we ensure fair play.
“Sometimes the level of hypocrisy among us is terrible and nauseating, to say the least,” he added.
He added that the introduction of a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will help in reducing officiating errors while advising that it may however not end controversies.
“Anything that would be introduced which is capable of minimizing the mistakes must be encouraged.
“At least for some key decisions, there would be a second eye but that alone can’t eradicate controversies like we’ve seen in other competitions like the English Premier League.”
He is not your regular referee especially when you meet him dancing under the floodlights on a warm Matchday evening in La!
Ghana’s 🇬🇭 one and only dancing referee- Referee Somo 🕺🏾#3Sports pic.twitter.com/cXCuV5080E
— #3Sports (@3SportsGh) November 1, 2021
Abbey leads Division One side Heart of Lions as president and has succeeded in leading them back into the top flight after eight years in the lower tier.
