Eleven Wonders player, Osman Zakaria has broken his silence and dispelled claims that he was bribed to miss the crucial penalty in his side’s game against Bofoakwa Tano United in the Division One League playoffs.
According to a statement by sports journalist, Atta Poku, some fans blamed Osman Zakaria for their loss and alleged that the player missed the penalty on purpose after taking money from officials of Bofoakwa Tano.
According to the player he got to know about the bribery allegations after the match because he turned off his phone to focus on the match.
“My phone was off before going to even play. I didn’t even hear about it,” he said in an interview with Vision 1.
The player admitted that life has been challenging for him since missing the penalty, but he has found inspiration from some members of his technical team.
Zakaria acknowledged the difficulty of the situation but revealed that the club chairman and team manager had encouraged him to stay strong, assuring him that they would continue to fight for qualification in the next season.
“What I am going through is not easy because that is how I play my penalties, it just occurred that I miss. My senior Daniel Agyin came to me before I took the kick encouraged me and even when I missed told me its part of the game,” he stated.
Osman Zakaria added, “To me, it wasn’t easy because the club chairman and team manager told me to stay strong because we can fight for it next season.
Osman Zakaria scored the equalizer for Eleven Wonders in regulation time against Bofoakwa Tano. He however missed a crucial penalty which could have sealed qualification to the Ghana Premier League.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com