Alexander Kwabena Baidoo Djiku, a defender for Strasbourg who was born in Montpellier, has been banned by the French football authorities for engaging in sports betting activities.
The central defender, who made his Black Stars debut in a 3-0 friendly defeat to Mali on October 9, 2020, was one of 76 top athletes, team officials, and coaches who were implicated as a result of the investigation.
Following an in-depth examination by the Professional Football League (LFP), Djiku, a member of the Black Stars’ 2022 World Cup squad, will serve a one-game suspension because he participated in betting.
Because of the serious offense, the Strasbourg centre-back, Djiku, will miss the return of Ligue 1 matches, and he will be absent for the big clash with PSG.
Football players and officials in the French League are prohibited from betting on matches; nonetheless, the Black Stars’ central defender has been banned for betting operations during the 2020–21 season.
Alexander Djiku, who was elected foreign-based footballer of the year at the 2022 Ghana Football Awards, did not gamble on Black Stars games, but his clean reputation in the game suffered as a result, as he was largely regarded as a disciplined player.
The Professional Football League released a press statement in which it stated, “These offenses were committed even though, together, the LFP and the UNFP (the players’ union) have carried out awareness or information campaigns with the clubs daily. The Commission recalls that the actors in the competitions organized by the FFF or the LFP (in particular the players, coaches, and managers of professional football clubs) have a general ban on betting, online or in physical networks, on all football competitions, whether domestic or foreign.”
The factual team of editors at www.atspo.com sought clarification on the issue at L’Equipe in France, and it was revealed that Ghana’s Alexander Djiku is banned for one game, while Castelletto of Cameroon faces a four-match ban.
