Former Hearts management member Farouk Al Wahab insists Sports Ministry must sue newspaper over Black Stars bribery report

Former management member of Accra Hearts of Oak Alhaji Farouk Al Wahab has called on the Ministry of Youth and Sports to sue the Ghana Sports Newspaper for publishing false bribery reports with the Ministry as the source of its information.

Earlier this week, the Ghana Sports Newspaper published that a document chanced upon at the Ministry of Youth and Sports suggests that the Ghana Football Association paid bribes to the tune of $700,000 to secure qualification for the Black Stars to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The Ghana Football Association in a reaction to that publication has refuted the story of paying bribes to influence Black Stars matches in Ghana's favour, describing the reports as mere fabrications and spread of falsehood.

In a similar publication, the Ministry of Youth and Sports issued a press release insisting the Ministry is not the source of the document quoted by the newspaper.

But the former International Relations Officer of Hearts Alhaji Al Wahab is of the view that the Ministry must sue the newspaper to clear its image and prove to Ghanaians that it is really not the source of the said document.

Speaking to Moontie FM on Saturday, Alhaji Al Wahab said 'Since the Ministry is claiming innocence, then they should sue the newspaper to clear themselves.'

'This is a criminal issue because the import of the publication is damaging to Ghana as a country and our football in particular.

'So since the newspaper quoted the Ministry as the source of the said document and the ministry is denying, they should go ahead and sue the newspaper and compel them to prove their source to settle the matter,' he added.

The damaging bribery allegation by the Ghana FA was subsequently published by Egyptian websites and other football portal across the African continent and the world at large.