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Is Violence creeping back Ghana's Premier League?
By Awudu Salami Sule, Ghanadot
Accra, July 14, Ghanadot - On
Wednesday May 9, 2001, a game of
football tragically turned into human tragedy as 127 fans
were crushed to death during a titanic premiership tie
between rivals, Accra Hearts Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
A group of policemen in their bid to control an irate
football fans fatally fired several rounds of tear gas
canisters into the crowd and that resulted into what came to
be known as the May 9 disaster.
After the horrific incidents the Ghana Football Association
and the Professional League Board came out with certain
measures to prevent any such occurance.
Though their measures might have worked to some point to
prevent violence during Premier league matches, current
happenings at league matches at the various league centres
lives much to be desired.
It stared on Wednesday July 8 2009 when Accra Hearts of Oak
played with Bechem Chelsea in the Glo Premier League and the
match ended draw (1-1 was the score line).
The fans of Hearts of Oak who were not happy with results
rushed to the pitch and attacked the assistant refree, Mr
Daud Oudrago.
The assistant referee who found himself in the fury had a
fractured leg and bruises all over his body. This was after
the irate fans had severely beat him. The players of the
away team (Bechem Chelsea) were not spared as they were also
attacked by the fans.
Barely three days after the ugly incident at the Ohene Djan
Sports Stadium in Accra, Kumasi Asante Kotoko traveled over
the weekend to Obuasi to play with AshGold and it was a
horrific spectacle.
Fans of AshGold were hurling stones on to the pitch after
Kumasi Asante Kotoko got the opener. Not the presence of the
armed Police personnel could scare the fans and the Police
reacted by firing tear gas to the crowd. Two people were
reported to have felt unconscious and later came to life
when they were rushed to the hospital by the ambulance team.
There was a temporal hold-up as a result of the violence and
when the referee called for resumption of the game, not even
the 2 goals scored by AshGold would stop their supporters
from using abusive words on the refree and his two
assistants. At the a point in time, they were singing war
songs to the officiating team and the intention was to tell
them what would be at stake for them if they (AshGold) loose
the match. But luckily, they won the match 2-1 and the
referee was spared.
The situation was no different at Sweduro in the Central
Region when on Sunday July 11 Gamba All Blacks locked horns
with Secondi Eleven Wise. The atmosphere was so much charged
that the referee had to stop the game for lack of enough
security. Fans of Gamba All Blacks were alleged to have
prevented the away team from entering the field of play and
the referee was equally not spared. The match has since not
been played.
The Ghana Football Association has however promised to apply
the rules of the game to prevent teams from encouraging
their supporters to engaged in violence.
In an interview in Accra, the Chairman of the Professional
League Board Mr Welbeck Abrah-Appiah said, it would be hasty
to make any pronouncement on the violence recorded at the
various league centres since he is yet to be officially
informed. He revealed that the FA Disciplinary Committee
would adjudicate on the matter within 48 hours after it has
been officially reported them.
He said, punishments would be severe on any club found
guilty.
He has however appeal to all Clubs participating in the Glo
Premier League to talk to their fans to desist from violent
acts which he said does not make the game of football
beautiful.
Ghanadot
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