Bankroller and President of Division One League outfit Tema Youth FC, Wilfred Kwaku Osei Palmer had opened up on how a female lawyer played a role in his disqualification from the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Presidential elections in 2019.
Osei Palmer claimed in an interview with Accra based Onua TV that he was deliberately kicked out of the race, which he was confident of winning.
The former GFA Executive Council member was removed from the race for two reasons: his failure to pay the 10% mandatory fee to the GFA for the transfer of player Joseph Painstil to Belgian side KRC Genk and not apologising to the GFA Ethics Committee for his comments on public radio that Ghana failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup due to the government’s decision to withdraw indemnity or unclassified payments from the FA budget.
He appealed the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but his appeal was denied, effectively ruling him out of the elections.
“One lawyer played a role in getting me out of the GFA race. She was very instrumental. When the FA elections were completed, she called someone who was a contestant to say that her candidate won. As to why she made that statement [I don’t know],” Palmer said on Onua TV
“I caught the person on camera with some contestants a day before the elections. I never revealed the person to the media.”
Osei Palmer, however, hasn’t ruled out running for president again in 2023, when elections will be held.
“Never impose yourself on the will of the people, if the football administrators want me then it’s the time, the right time I will make my pronouncement. I’ve not ruled it out, time will tell.
“There’s no personal issue between myself and [GFA President] Kurt Okraku. Kurt has an issue with Tema Youth and not me and he’ll tell you the same when you ask him,” he added.
