The General Secretary of the Referees Association of Ghana (RAG), Alex Anning, says paying referees on time would help improve officiating in Ghana’s domestic leagues, while urging the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to allow the association to discipline officials for poor performances.
His comments follow President John Dramani Mahama’s call for higher refereeing standards, which he described as a key issue affecting the development and competitiveness of Ghanaian football.
During a meeting with football stakeholders on Tuesday, Mahama urged the GFA and RAG to work together to restore confidence in officiating and improve the quality of refereeing in domestic competitions.
Speaking to Sporty FM, Anning backed the President’s assessment and argued that prompt payment was one of the practical steps needed to reduce poor officiating.
“President Mahama said the GFA knows what to do, and one of them is promptly paying the referees,” he said.
Anning also questioned whether the GFA had the financial capacity to fully support referees as full-time professionals.
He explained that many officials currently work on a part-time basis because they cannot rely on refereeing alone to earn a living.
“If we want to make our referees professional and pull them away from their other professions, it’s a matter of cost,” he said.
“Can the GFA afford that?”
He believes several part-time referees would be willing to become full-time officials if the necessary financial backing was available.
“If the GFA is ready, then there are referees who are also ready,” he added.
Anning also claimed that RAG had lost much of its authority over disciplinary matters involving referees, arguing that the GFA now controls sanctions against officials who perform poorly.
“It looks like the GFA doesn’t want to see the Referees Association of Ghana,” he said.
“After what President Mahama said, the GFA must give RAG the liberty to discipline referees.”
