His comment follows recent remarks by a Senior Law Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Raymond Atuguba, that Parliament, should not entertain the Special Prosecutor Bill because the constitution has already granted such powers to the Attorney General.

But speaking to Citi News, the Gomoa West lawmaker, said such a view is rather simplistic especially when state bodies like the police already prosecute on behalf of the Attorney General.

“Those who are making those arguments are making very narrow and simplistic view of Article 88 of the constitution. It vests prosecutorial powers solely to the Attorney General, thankfully it also gives the AG the power to delegate part of its prosecutorial powers to other agencies to do that in its name…. If we take the simplistic view of those who are making that argument, then it means even the police cannot prosecute,” he said.

Dr. Raymond A. Atuguba, at a forum organized by CSD – Ghana, in partnership with the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana Faculty of Law earlier this month, urged Parliament not to accept the Special Prosecutor Bill again.

He said under the current constitutional dispensation, no prosecutor in Ghana could be legally independent; emphasizing that, “again, under our current constitutional dispensation, no prosecutor can be legally settled.”

“Any attempt to pass a law that establishes the Office of a Prosecutor that purports to be special and or independent, does not only do violence to article 88 of our constitution, but will not pass constitutional master in the Supreme Court,” Dr. Atuguba said.

But the Vice Chairman of Parliament’s Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Alexander Abban, said he disagrees with that view.

Meanwhile, deliberations on the bill at the second reading stage where the principles and policy intent are debated, is expected to come off this week.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Confusion ensued; it was impossible to tell if the ball had crossed the plane.

Eventually, officials awarded the goal, and England secured its first and only World Cup victory.

Try not to remind German fans.

They can’t take it away now anyway,” Hurst told Britain’s The Telegraph last year. “It is in the book.”

He’s right, but soccer’s governing bodies are doing their best to ensure a similar controversy over a so-called “ghost goal” never happens again.

And as fate would have it, they’re turning to a German company for help.

A new system

According to official estimates, FIFA is paying a small German start-up nearly $3.5 million to operate its new goal-line technology in the 2014 World Cup, which kicks off Thursday in Brazil.

The company, called GoalControl, would install 14 cameras in each of the 12 World Cup stadiums that triangulate the motion of the ball with maximum precision: up to 500 images per second.

With that tracking, plus sensors on the goal line, GoalControl can instantly alert a referee when the ball crosses the line. There’s no need to consult a replay booth or another official; the referee in charge merely looks at their smartwatch.

In other words, say “tchau” to ghost goals in Brazil.

“The cameras are connected to a powerful image-processing computer system which tracks the movement of all objects on the pitch and filters out the players, referees and all disturbing objects,” a GoalControl representative said.

If the system registers that the ball has crossed the goal line, it can send a vibration and a visual “GOAL” signal to referees’ watches within a second.

GoalControl says the idea was developed by Dirk Broichhausen, a company founder, after he attended a soccer match in Germany in which there was a dispute over a goal. He began contacting technicians the next day.

For Broichhausen’s fellow Germans, though, the invention came nearly a half-century late.

The tipping point

For years, FIFA President Sepp Blatter dragged his feet before introducing technology to the soccer field. At various points, he complained it would lead to dramatic increases in play stoppage, or that it limits human officials.

Two things changed his mind: the quick, accurate nature of new systems such as GoalControl, and a high-profile controversy involving two familiar opponents.

Forty-four years after Hurst’s 1966 miracle, Germany met England during a World Cup knockout match in South Africa.

In the first half, English midfielder Frank Lampard sent a powerful strike toward the goal, which — of course — hit the top frame, dropped near the goal line, and bounced out.

A goal was not given.

Unlike 1966, however, instant replay revealed the truth: the ball had clearly crossed the line, and England was unjustly denied a goal.

Germany won, 4-1. But for FIFA and its president, it was the ultimate embarrassment. Blatter said Lampard’s ghost goal was the moment he changed his mind.

“For me as FIFA president it became evident the moment what happened in South Africa in 2010,” he said at FIFA headquarters after the incident. “…I have to say ‘thank you Lampard’. I was completely down in South Africa when I saw that it really shocked me, it took me a day to react.”

Debate rages on

Still, there are vocal opponents to introducing technology to soccer officiating.

UEFA President Michel Platini is the most prominent. He controls popular European tournaments including the UEFA Champions League.

Earlier this year, Platini told CNN he remains staunchly against goal line technology, philosophically and practically.

“I prefer that we have more referees to see if there is a penalty foul and if the ball is going over the line. We don’t need perfect cameras to see the ball,” he said.

Platini also mentioned the high cost, estimating that implementing the technology in the UEFA Champions League could cost €52 million, or nearly $70 million.

“I prefer to give these millions of Euros to grass-roots, to the young players in football, to some infrastructures so they can play football,” he said.

Cost is also a barrier for Major League Soccer. In a statement, league officials said they have not found the right mix of ease, effectiveness and price concerning goal-line technology, although they support its use in theory.

“We have met with multiple goal-line technology system manufacturers and have been carefully monitoring plans to implement the system,” the league said. “As of today, the time required to purchase, receive, install and properly test the equipment precludes MLS from considering the approved system for use, but we will continue to monitor the progress.”

Most professional American sports leagues use technology to aid officials in some form. Most recently, Major League Baseball expanded its instant replay rules this season.

At any rate, one man is overjoyed with the new technological developments: World Cup hero Geoff Hurst.

“If we had this system 50 years ago, it would have shown quite clearly the ball was at least a foot over the line,” he said.

–

Source: CNN

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The 31-year-old winger has been toiling with a back problem in recent weeks, and Didier Deschamps, the head coach of Les Bleus, confirmed during a press conference on Friday afternoon that the Ballon d’Or nominee’s situation has worsened.

“This morning Ribery stopped during a run. Now, he cannot train,” Deschamps explained. “Tests have confirmed a worsening of the situation. He cannot play.”

Ribery’s injury was the second blow that France would suffer on Friday, as Clement Grenier aggravated a thigh problem, which had plagued him in the latter part of the season, leading to the Olympique Lyonnais playmaker also withdrawing from the squad.

Deschamps revealed that he has already called up two replacements in the form of Montpellier’s Remy Cabella and Southampton’s uncapped Morgan Schneiderlin.

The loss of Ribery, however, will be seen as a significant blow to France’s hopes of World Cup success, as the 2006 runner-up was their most experienced player available with 81 appearances. Antoine Griezmann of Real Sociedad is widely expected to take his place in Deschamps’ starting XI.

–

Source: goal.com

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Nana Kwaku Bonsam – whose name translates literally as ‘Devil of Wednesday’ – predicted in February that the Real Madrid forward would be forced to miss this summer’s tournament in Brazil with injury. A statement from the Portuguese FA on Wednesday confirmed that Ronaldo is suffering from tendinosis in his left knee as well as nursing a muscle problem in his thigh which caused him to miss the 0-0 draw with Greece at the weekend.

With Ghana set to meet Portugal in their final match of Group G in Brasilia on 26 June, Bonsam claims to have conjured a special powder from his gods, mixed with several leaves and concoctions which have been placed around an image and caricature of the former Manchester United player.

“I know what Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury is about, I’m working on him,” Bonsam, who serves at the ‘Kofioo Kofi’ shrine, said in an interview with Kumasi-based Angel FM.

“I am very serious about it. Last week, I went around looking for four dogs and I got them to be used in manufacturing a special spirit called ‘Kahwiri Kapam’”.

“I said it four months ago that I will work on Cristiano Ronaldo seriously and rule him out of the World up or at least prevent him from playing against Ghana and the best thing I can do is to keep him out though injury.

“This injury can never be cured by any medic, they can never see what is causing the injury because it is spiritual. Today, it is his knee, tomorrow it is his thigh, next day it is something else.”

Source: TheGuardian

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The injured Jerry Akaminko, Jeffrey Schulpp and David Accam did not make the cut from the party that will travel to the Miami for the final phase of preparations as Appiah trimmed his preliminary squad to 23

Akaminko picked up an ankle injury during the closing stages of the Black Stars’ friendly on Saturday against the Netherlands in Rotterdam and is ruled out for the next three months.

Appiah’s squad includes 16 World Cup debutants.

Captain Asamoah Gyan and Sulley Muntari will be making their third-straight final while Jonathan Mensah, Michael Essien, Kwadwo Asamoah, Andre Ayew and Kevin-Prince Boateng all prepare for their second appearance.

Ghana’s final 23-man roster:

Goalkeepers:Fatau Dauda (Orlando Pirates), Adam Kwarasey (Stromsgodset), Stephen Adams (Aduana Stars)

Defenders: Samuel Inkoom (Platanias), Daniel Opare (Standard Liege), Harrison Afful (Esperance), John Boye (Rennes), Jonathan Mensah (Evian), Rashid Sumalia (Mamelodi Sundowns)

Midfielders: Michael Essien (AC Milan), Sulley Muntari (AC Milan), Rabiu Mohammed (Kuban Krasnodar), Kwadwo Asamoah (Juventus), Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (Udinese), Afriyie Acquah (Parma), Christian Atsu (Vitesse), Albert Adomah (Middlesbrough), Andre Ayew (Marseille), Mubarak Wakaso (Rubin Kazan)

Strikers: Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Schalke 04), Abdul Majeed Waris (Valenciennes), Jordan Ayew (Sochaux)

Source: Ghanafa.org

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The Turkey-based defender will undergo surgery on the ankle injury that could keep him out of action for about three months.

Akaminko landed awkwardly in the 90th minute of the match in Rotterdam, leading to a fracture to his left ankle joint.

Following medical tests in Rotterdam on Saturday night, Ghana team doctor Adam Baba confirmed that Akaminko would miss the finals in Brazil.

“X-rays have revealed that there is a fracture to the left ankle joint- that is the fracture of the fibula bone. What will have to be done is surgery,” Dr Baba told Ghanafa.org

“If surgery is done depending on his rehabilitation we will give him at least three months to be able to fully recuperate from the injury and start playing.”

Source: Ghanafa.org

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Benedikt Hoewedes and Julian Draxler were passengers in separate cars in the Mercedes event on a closed circuit.

One of the cars, with professional touring car driver Pascal Wehrlein at the wheel, struck two men near the team hotel, leaving one seriously hurt.

The footballers were not injured in the accident, and have resumed training.

The other car was being driven by Mercedes Formula One driver, Nico Rosberg.

Hoewedes and Draxler play for German Bundesliga side Schalke 04 and have been selected to represent their country in next month’s World Cup in Brazil.

Mercedes-Benz Motorsport said in a statement: “We will work in full cooperation with the authorities in determining the exact circumstances of the accident.”

The seriously injured man was a 63-year-old German tourist, local media said.

The other man is believed to be a circuit marshal. Both men were taken to hospital.

Rosberg, currently in first place in the driver’s championship, expressed shock at the accident.

“My thoughts are with the two people who were injured and I wish them a fast recovery” he said on twitter.

The German football team will continue to train in the South Tyrol area of Italy until 1 June.

Source: BBC

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Jurgen Klinsmann defied all odds and named Bayern Munich’s 18 years old German born American, Julien Green ahead of London Donovan to the surprise of many fans.

Donovan has appeared in more World Cup matches than any other player and is currently second on the list of all-time appearances for the United States. He has played 12 World Cup matches for the USA.

This decision seems to have raised several eyebrows with many pundits questioning  the rationale behind this seemingly weird act by Klinsmann.

Explaining the rationale behind his decision, Jurgen Klinsmann disclosed that ”it was one of the toughest decision in my coaching career to tell a player like him with everything he has done and what he represents to tell him you are not part of the final 23 and currently the other guys are ahead of him and that he understands it.”

He subsequently lauded the manner in which Donovan accepted the news and tagged him as an outstanding professional. “He took it the best way possible, his disappointment is huge but I totally understand that, he took it very professional because he is an outstanding professional player”.

The United States of America will play old nemesis the Black Stars of Ghana on the 17^th of June at the Estadio das Dunas [Natal] before they play both Germany and Portugal respectively.

The United States are currently in  camp preparing for the World Cup in Stanford, Calif.  Before traveling to Brazil, the Americans will play Azerbaijan on May 27 in San Francisco, Turkey on June 1, in Harrison, N.J., and Nigeria on June 7 in Jacksonville

U.S.A final 23 man squad:

GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS: DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Nurnberg), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders)

MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jones (Besiktas), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

By: Benjamin Epton Owusu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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