I know a national team coach who drives a car given him by a player agent, that’s also an influence – Fianoo replies Palmer

Chairman of the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA), Mr. Cudjoe Finanoo has responded to claims by former Black Stars management Committee Chairman, Wilfred Osei Kweku (Palmer) that officials of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) mostly influence player selection into the various national teams.

According to the GHALCA boss, influence in player selection into the national teams comes in various ways, either in cash or in kind, but while declaring himself innocent of such acts, acknowledges the fact that the practice is inevitable in football administration. Fianoo insisted, that influencing coaches in player selection into the various national teams is a situation that cannot be taken out of football because it comes through several means, but he expected Palmer to have specifically stated who has been involved in the act.

The GHALCA boss, a former CEO of premiership side Ashantigold SC, made these comments in an interview with ghanasportspage.com responding to Palmer’s claims made in an interview with Graphic Sports.

“You cannot take that thing (influencing player selection) out, the influence is many, it’s not only with money”, Finanoo told ghanasportspage.com. “I know a certain national team coach who didn’t have a car, and he was using a car which belonged to an agent (a football player agent), so how can you make a call up without calling that agent’s player, you will call him because if you don’t he will take his car back, so the influence is there in abundance”, he claimed.

Addressing the claims by Palmer, Fianoo further stressed that the influence at the national team level could be from the GFA officials, the various national team management committee members or even from some other coaches. As a result, he directs the former Black Stars Management Committee chairman to state which body or individual he was referring to. To Fianoo, it is not even proven that Palmer, during his days with the Black Stars, ever engaged in influencing player selection into the national team or not.

“Which management Committee member ever resisted the call up of his player into a national team”?, he asked. “So the influence is everywhere, it could be from a coach, it could be from a management member, it could come from anywhere. So if he says so he should have been very specific. Let me cite this example, when he (Palmer) was a Black Stars Management Committee Chairman, he stated at a point in time that [coach] Kwasi Appiah could not handle the Black Stars, but he went ahead to work with him. But somebody who is a principled person wouldn’t have done that thing”, Fianoo referred.

The GHALCA boss also challenged the Tema Youth Footbal Club President (Palmer) to make known if he never influenced the selection of any player of his club into the national team during his time as the Black Stars Management Committee chairman.

“Is he saying when he was a [Black Stars] Management Committee member non of his players went into a national team? And when they player went to the national team did he influence the coach or not? So as I said earlier it happens, it depends on the angle the person is coming form, some do it, it depends on the person to decide whether he will take it (the bribe) or not, so there are issues you cannot write them off completely”, he concluded.