The fear of fixed matches towards the end of the premier national football league continues to haunt the football authorities and since you need top class intelligence work to establish guilt in these circumstances everybody seems to have given up. The purists always cite the example in Italy where the axe fell heavily on certain top clubs who were found guilty of match fixing. Some world famous clubs were demoted and some fined heavily.

Can we do this in Ghana? That is the question. It is almost impossible. Even the ordinary man in the street will tell you that in Ghana’s current over exaggerated democratic atmosphere it would be unthinkable to take such measures as the clubs would quickly rush to the law courts and a whole national football programme could grind to a halt. It is a sad commentary that Ghanaians at times behave as if they are the only freedom loving people on the planet who understand the rule of law. Ironically this attitude invariably leads us to cutting our noses to spite our faces in most circumstances.

It is accepted by all that football is a game of uncertainties and the best team does not always win. I have always concluded that it is the unpredictable nature of football that has made the football pools such a lucrative enterprise. One may recall the exciting finish to the recent English premiership with all the surprise results and the ongoing Euro 2008 which has seen favourites like France and Italy taking an early shower.

But in Ghana the interesting phenomenon is that you only get surprise results mostly involving relegation threatened clubs and it is always towards the end of the competition.

A case history is the final round matches in the 1988-89 season where two relegation threatened teams, Hasaacas and Brong Ahafo United scored a total of 39 goals without reply from their opponents Hasaacas trounced local rivals Sekondi Eleven Wise 19-0 in Sekondi and Brong Ahafo United thrashed bottom of the table Accra based Man U 20-0 at Sunyani.

Before these last fixtures Hasaacas and Brong Ahafo United had tied with 21 points apiece on the relegation border-line but United had a superior goal difference of three. It meant, therefore, the Sekondi boys needed to score at least four goals to oust United.

As a result of public outcry the Football Association declared the results null and void. All the four clubs were fined but their six month suspension was revoked after six weeks and in the words of then Sports Secretary Kwame Saarah Mensah this action was taken following serious considerations of the numerous appeals by the public and the clubs own remorse at the episode.

Since this episode no such ridiculous scorelines have been recorded but interest in the league continues to wane towards the end because of glaring but difficult to prove fixed matches. This is not funny. The football authorities have had a tough task on hand and to perhaps to put fear into offending clubs the Professional League Board in 1995 suspecting some unfair deals issued an official warning that "any club that engages in matches of convenience will be severely sanctioned"

This warning appeared to have felt on deaf ears. We had some intriguing results. Accra Hearts of Oak surprisingly lost 1-0 to bottom club Kumasi Cornerstone in Kumasi and true to the fears of most fans the Sunyani match between uncrowned champions Goldfields and relegation threatened Brong Ahafo United ended in a contrived controversy.

After a goalless first half, Goldfields unceremoniously boarded their bus and left for Obuasi leaving the packed stadium puzzled. The club later issued a statement that Sunyani fans were so hostile that "it would have taken the courage of a bull to have continued the match". United were later awarded the three points to ease their relegation worries.

In the current 2007-2008 just about to end the last four fixtures have, true to pattern provided some interesting results .Run away winners Kumasi Asante Kotoko lost 2-0 to bottom club Accra Great Olympics and relegation threatened Sekondi Hasaacas have scored two astonishing victories at Kpandu beating top contenders Heart of Lions 2-0 and Accra Hearts of Oak 3-2 in Sekondi. No pun intended here just providing statistics.

Following Kotoko’s 2-0 loss to Great Olympics patronage for their subsequent matches have been extremely poor. Some fans suspect a foul deal and the management of Asante Kotoko have had to issue a public statement denying any such unfair practices. It is a dicey situation and until fans are convinced that all the teams are playing for real the remaining fixtures will receive very poor patronage.

As things stand now the top and bottom places are settled. Kotoko have won the cup and Olympics are relegated We are left with Zaytuna and Real Sportive to sort themselves out who joins Great Olympics in the lower division next season. Both teams travel away this weekend for their penultimate assignments Zaytuna meet Kotoko in Kumasi and Sportive face Arsenals at Berekum.

May be it would be a good idea if the Professional League Board send some independent observers to watch the two matches critically whilst it thinks of how to arrange next season’s fixtures in a such a way that the concluding fixtures could involve the top eight in the competition. This should not be difficult. The records are available and it should be easy to assemble the regular top eight clubs.

Meanwhile efforts should be made to educate the teams that playing of fixed matches is not good for the health of competitive football and it is a complete cheat on the fans who pay to fill the stands and make the game of football arguable the most patronised spectator sport on the planet.