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Claim: A Facebook user claims Benjamin Asare, Black Stars and Hearts of Oak goalkeeper, has been accused of theft during the recent international football break. The claim included a picture of Asare in handcuffs, being escorted by police.
Verdict: False. No credible news outlet has reported such an incident at the black stars camp during the international break. The image is fabricated.
Full Text
The 2026 World Cup is a few months away. The prestigious tournament comes with several preparations. Qualified teams engage in several preliminary matches to assess their respective teams.
Ghana is no exception; the Black Stars of Ghana lined up a couple of international friendly matches against Austria and Germany on the 27th and 30th of March, 2025, respectively. Ghana lost to Austria 5-1 on March 27, 2025.
Moments after the match, the Facebook page Amazing TV Ghana posted that Benjamin Asare had been arrested for stealing from his fellow players at camp.
“Ghana Black Stars Goal Keeper, Benjamin Asare, Accused Of Stealing From His Teammates In Austria,” the post was captioned with a Photo of Asare in cuffs and a YouTube link attached.
A screenshot of the post on Facebook. Image Source: Facebook
As of April 6, 2026, the post had garnered 2,000 likes and 686 interactions.
DUBAWA decided to probe further in efforts to combat sports disinformation ahead of the World Cup.
Verification
To verify this claim, DUBAWA decided to determine whether the image of the shotstopper in cuffs is real or AI-generated. ImageWhisperer, an AI detector tool, indicated that the image is digitally fabricated from unrelated pictures and does not depict any real event.
Screenshot of the results from ImageWhisperer.
Also, Google keyword search did not reveal any news publications, general news, or sports by any credible news outlet in Ghana. Considering the recent fame and goodwill Benjamin Asare has enjoyed among Ghanaians, such an issue would have gained media traction.
However, in a presser, Accra Hearts of Oak denied any such allegations involving their goalkeeper.
“We wish to categorically state that these reports are entirely false, misleading, and defamatory. The Club has engaged directly with the Ghana Football Association, and both parties confirm that there is absolutely no truth to these claims,” the club stated.
In a collective decision, the club and the GFA have engaged the Ghana Police Service to investigate allegations and bring perpetrators of the disinformation to justice.
“Ghana Police Service is active. Within minutes of seeing the heartless, hurtful, and malicious fake post, we engaged the Ghana Police Service. GFA and the club are on the same page. This Police pursuit is without prejudice to any legal action Mr Benjamin Asare may also take,” Prosper Harrison Addo, general secretary at the GFA, stated on Facebook.
Conclusion
The claim that Benjamin Asare was accused of stealing from teammates during the international break is false. The image is digitally fabricated.
