Richmond Lamptey’s Ban: It was painful, I wanted to quit football forever
Richmond Lamptey, a midfielder for Asante Kotoko, has admitted that the emotional toll of a match-fixing ban he was subjected to nearly caused him to give up football at the age of 25.
When AshantiGold defeated Inter Allies 7-0 on July 2021, an investigation proved that the game was manipulated, and Lamptey and other players involved in the game were banned by the Ghana Football Association.
The ban was successfully reversed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) thanks to the former Inter Allies captain’s successful appeal of the ruling and the assistance of Kotoko.
“It was very painful. Since the issue came up, I haven’t really spoken about it. It was a really difficult time for me,”
“The way my parents were lamenting, it was painful to see. It really affected my game, going out became a problem for me and even when I go on social media and see some comments, I get discouraged. There was a point I was contemplating retirement.”
“I want to thank management for taking the issue to CAS and I feel vindicated now,” He said in an interview on Kotoko’s YouTube channel.
