The newly appointed Black Stars assistant coach, John Paintsil, has opted to file a lawsuit against three media companies in Ghana and four broadcast journalists over a forgery coaching certificate claim.
The ex-Ghana defender, who was appointed last month as one of the deputy coaches of Otto Addo to steer affairs of the senior national team, has faced intense criticism from some sports journalists after his appointment.
It is believed that Paintsil's statement made on UTV after the Save Ghana Football demonstration organized by a group of journalists in Ghana led to the barrage of attacks on his personality by the broadcast journalists.
The broadcast journalists being sued include Saddick Adams of Angel FM/TV, Christopher Nimley of Citi FM, Patrick Osei Agyemang (Countryman Songo) of Adom TV, and Veronica Commey.
Patrick Osei Agyemang, popularly known as Countryman Songo, allegedly made several baseless allegations, while other journalists questioned Paintsil's qualifications for his coaching role with the Black Stars.
WTS Nobisfields Ghana, a respected law company affiliated with WTS Global, a well-known legal network that operates in nearly 100 countries worldwide, is representing John Paintsil.
He demands general damages of 20 million Ghana cedis from media companies and 5 million Ghana cedis from individuals. He also requests aggravated and compensating damages from the individuals.
Paintsil argues that the defendants' allegations that he forged a coaching credential provided to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) have defamed him and harmed his public image.
He claims that the defendants' defamatory remarks indicate his complicity in forging, a criminal offence, and throw doubt on his credibility.
Below is the Writ of Summons.
