The draw between the England and Ghana teams in the World Cup was accompanied by a striking controversy after Ghanaian spiritualist Nana Kwaku Bonsam claimed to have influenced Harry Kane's performance through supernatural practices.
Popularly known as the "Wednesday Devil," Nana Kwaku Bonsam stated that he carried out a ritual aimed at neutralizing the English forward and preventing him from scoring during the match. After the game, the spiritual leader celebrated the result and claimed that his intervention achieved the goal of protecting Ghana's sporting interests.
According to his statements, the captain of the English team and Bayern Munich star was under the influence of an alleged curse that prevented him from scoring at crucial moments in the match. However, the spiritualist assured that his work was already done and that Kane could return to scoring normally in the upcoming tournament matches.
"I am the most powerful spiritualist in the world. Now I will free Harry Kane so he can score in his next match," Bonsam stated during a ceremony he publicly broadcasted after the game.
The spiritual leader's statements did not arise after the draw. Days before the clash, he had already anticipated that he would use his supposed powers to try to stop one of England's key players.
In an interview with the British newspaper Daily Star, Bonsam had expressed his intention to intervene spiritually to reduce the offensive impact of the English scorer and favor the African team. "I don't want to cause him a serious injury. I just want to prevent him from harming Ghana during the match," he had pointed out before the World Cup commitment.
The spiritualist's claims quickly went viral on social media and international media, fueling the debate between those who consider these practices part of the cultural traditions of some countries and those who view them as mere anecdotal statements related to football.
