ACCRA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The Normalization Committee (NC) of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has placed a temporary ban on three referees over bribery allegation in the ongoing special competition.

Referees Ali Alhassan, Mustapha Abdulai, and Mohammed Issahaku have been temporarily banned, with immediate effect, following the bribery allegation leveled against them after they presided over the NC special competition fixture between regional rivals Ashantigold and Asante Kotoko last Sunday.

They are alleged to have taken an 8,000 Ghana cedis (1,600 U.S. dollars) bribe to influence the game in favor of one of the teams.

"The referees committee of the GFA has been asked not to assign the referees involved to any matches until further notice," the NC said in a release, adding that the suspension is without prejudice to any decision to be taken by the judicial bodies of the GFA.

The matter has however been referred to the appropriate judicial body for further investigations in accordance with the GFA regulations.

The NC, in an earlier statement, assured all football stakeholders and the general public that it will investigate the issue and punish the culprits if these allegations are found to be true.

According to the NC, such bribery allegations denigrate the hard work and tactical prowess of teams, coaches and players who always compete to win their matches through fair means.