Ghana’s captain at the 2006 World Cup, Stephen Appiah has dismissed claims that the Black Stars lost their World Cup second round game against Brazil under the influence of an Asian betting syndicate.
Canadian author, Declan Hill claims in a book on sports and betting that the Black Stars had accepted money from an Asian syndicate to lose that World Cup game by at least 0-2. It ended 3-0 in favour of the Brazilians.
That report has been rejected by the Ghana Football Association and now the captain of the side has done same.
Appiah, who led Ghana to the second round at the World Cup has told KickOffGhana.com that the allegations are ridiculous and a ploy by the author Declan Hill to boost his book sales.
“When we discuss this we are exactly what Declan wants which is to create publicity for the book and drive up sales,” he said.
“The truth of the matter is that I have never accepted money to influence the outcome of a game and never will.
“If anyone has doubts, they should look back at the game and what it meant to us. To suggest we will throw all that away for some 20,000 dollars is ridiculous.
The Black Stars captain admits meeting Hill but insist that he had told him nothing to merit the claims.
“He interviewed me but all I told him was that we are given money to win. Maybe he misunderstood me but I was only talking about winning bonus which is a common thing from the Ghana Football Association.
“As professionals none of us would give up the chance to beat Brazil and make the last eight of the World Cup for the sort of money he talks about. And in all modesty many of us earn much more than that.
“The amount of money he talks about compared to the money we made from reaching the second round alone makes his claim even more laughable.”
The Ghana Football Association last week denied claims made in Hill's book 'The Fix' which is being serialised in the German news magazine Der Spiegel.
The FA is considering taking a legal action against the Canadian author and his publishers over assertions that the Black Stars’ 2006 World Cup clash with Brazil was fixed.