Sports
Deadly portrait of our game!
It appears all-too monotonous, mind-numbing and tedious talking about one issue almost every other week – bad officiating and violence on our football pitches. Perhaps, one has little or no option now than to hammer home this twin evil with ruthless intensity.
To be frank with you, we all have to admit that violence and bad refereeing has taken over our game and it is rather heartrending and disconcerting the manner we have almost powerlessly watched it mushroom into this orgy of near blood-letting.
Referees have been beaten to pulp, whilst visiting players – and now a coach, have been sadistically attacked on enemy territories, especially in the Division One League (DOL), and to an extent the premiership.
Only last week, it was reported that nearly 30 supporters of Berekum Chelsea pounced on Ebusua Dwarfs coach Ernest Thompson and beat him mercilessly when he was about to enter into the field to do his official job. His crime: he was suspected of carrying juju (black magic) on him to the cagey premier league game at Berekum. Sadly, the supporters found nothing on him – and he was left on the floor to his own fate whilst the police, we are told, shamefacedly looked on.
Fearing for their lives, perhaps, the Dwarfs players had to surrender the lead and eventually let in an avoidable goal seven minutes from the final whistle to lose 2-1. It was a game the visitors could have won easily, but for their safety. Is this good for the development of our game?
We have countless cases; another recent one being the attack on players of visiting Young Apostles at Nkoranza in their game against Nkoranza Warriors.
This is the present portrait of our game where the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Police have not done enough to halt the madness.
Admittedly, the onus to control crowd violence does not rest on the FA alone. True. The clubs themselves must be deeply involved to rid the game of these hoodlums.
However, once domestic football is the FA’s brand, they have a much bigger role to play more than anybody else.
That is why the recent comment by the FA President Kurt Okraku that he is not the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to prosecute violent fans is in bad taste. It leaves a bitter sour in the mouth.
By law, the IGP is not under any obligation to provide security at the game. No, the onus rests on the ‘football people’ to engage the police to ensure sanity in the game; to make sure violent fans or hooligans are arrested to face the full rigours of the law.
In a supposed valiant attempt to tackle the issue of horrendous officiating, too, the FA have suspended or banned referees for the entire season. It is laudably impressive. However, in some good number of cases, the Football Association could have stretched the issue a bit further by investigating whether the referees and their assistants were actually compromised in financial terms, to officiate in such manner.
It looks a Himalayan job, but it can be done.
This is important because the atrocious fashion some of these referees signal for penalties and overlook serious infringements even visible to a blind man, unmistakably betrays their intent. Clearly, they do not even care about their image; ostensibly because what they stand to gain in the game supersedes anything else.
A clinical case in point was Referee Emmanuel Odoom who awarded a bad spot-kick to Kotoku Royals in a Zone 3 DOL game a fortnight ago. According to reports, the referee was very close to the scene (about 10m) and could not have seen that the ball did not hit the hand of Accra Lions player but rather his chest. After reviewing the tape, he was subsequently suspended for the rest of the season, stretching into the next one.
Indeed, some of these referees are killing the game and if care is not taken, club owners would have no choice than to throw their hands up in despair – fold their mats and look elsewhere.
As someone said, if a High Court makes a blunder in its judgement – whether deliberately or not, there is an opportunity for the Appeals Court to overturn the decision. In the case of football, you are doomed. The FA Appeals Committee does not overturn the goal, unless in the case of the winning side fielding an unqualified player; but that is not what we are talking about anyway.
Club owners spend tens of thousands of money to get clubs on the road only to have lousy referees destroying their hard-earned investments. Too bad!
Whilst calling for violent fans to be prosecuted and gaoled, it would also not be out of place if referees who misconduct themselves – or bring the game into disrepute are put behind bars to serve as a deterrent to potential crooks in the game.
PlainTalk with JOHN VIGAH
The unbeaten away run of Accra Hearts of Oak will be put to the test tomorrow when they visit the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale to play as guests of Karela United. Described as one of the top-liners of the weekend games, the match will pitch one of the best home teams against the best away team, with their records on the line.
After playing a pulsating 2-2 draw with Kumasi Asante Kotoko last week, league leaders Medeama SC return to their fortress, the TnA Stadium, to welcome Berekum Chelsea FC in a clash of former league winners. Medeama have struggled in recent times to hold their own against the ‘Bibires’, losing their last four games both home and away.
However, according to Head Coach of Medeama, Tanko Ibrahim, that sequence of results will come to an end tomorrow as they look to crawl out of the claws of their opponents with victory. Eleven points separate the sides, with Berekum Chelsea lying a distant 14th position on the log. They have been a pale shadow of themselves this season, and it remains to be seen if Coach Samuel Boadu’s side can keep the bragging rights over the Yellow and Mauves in what has been described as one of their worse starts to a league season.
Today, second-placed Kpando Heart of Lions will trek to the Kwame Kyei Sports Complex in Abrankese to play as guests of struggling Nations FC. Having suffered a 1-0 away loss to Basake Holy Stars in their last game, Nations FC would look to pick all three points to better their current 12th position.
In other games, the Hohoe Sports Stadium will come alive as new boys Hohoe United FC welcome Kumasi Asante Kotoko. The Nii Adjei Kraku II Sports Complex in Tema will host the Vision FC versus Young Apostles FC game, the Tuba Astro Turf will host the Dreams FC versus Bechem United FC clash, while the Nsenkyire Sports Arena will host the Samartex FC versus Bibiani Gold Stars game. High-riding Aduana FC will sort things out with Basake Holy Stars at the Nana Agyeman Badu I Park in Dormaa.
By Raymond Ackumey
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When the international friendly match between Ghana’s Black Queens and the Lionesses of England was announced, it was received with mixed feelings. For the faint-hearted, lining up such a high-profile friendly against the European champions was an audacious move. Fans who aligned with this school of thought were guided by what has earned a place in Ghana’s football history as the ‘Bochum Disaster,’ recorded on April 14, 1993.
It was a disaster, although there was no loss of life. On that cold evening in Bochum, the Black Stars suffered a 6-1 humiliation from the German national team in an international friendly. It came as a shock to soccer fans across the globe, coming just a year after Abedi Ayew Pele skippered the Black Stars to dominate the continent, culminating in an AFCON final in the 1992 edition held in Senegal. In a final against the Elephants of La Cote d’Ivoire, the game went to extra time, with the eventual winner decided after a marathon penalty shoot-out. Ghana’s strength on the continent at the time was considered second best.
Fast forward to April, Ghana faced Germany again, needing a high-profile friendly to commence USA ‘94 World Cup qualifying. What followed was a battering that no follower of the team would want to remember—a 6-1 defeat for the team that had previously brought honour to the nation. Guided by this history, nervous fans had reason to doubt the Black Queens’ ability to share the field with the European champions, currently the top-ranked female team in the world, and come out unscathed.
However, there were fans who remained optimistic that the Black Queens would perform well. Despite losing the game 2-0, fans expressed satisfaction with the team’s overall performance, as many had anticipated a worse outcome than the Bochum disaster. The English coach had changed the team that had thrashed China 8-0 just four days earlier, which gave some hope to Ghana supporters.
The Black Queens defended well for 90 minutes, aided by some profligacy from the English in front of goal and an excellent performance from Ghana’s goalkeeper, Cynthia Konlan Findib. England captain Alessia Russo praised Ghana’s performance, stating, “Ghana provided the type of test we wanted… We want to test ourselves against different playing styles, and we definitely got that tonight.”
Despite the defeat, the match proved to be a valuable exercise for the team as they prepare for the next AFCON. It highlighted improvements in both the playing staff and the technical direction of the team. Coach Kim Lars scored full marks for knowing the strengths of his team and adopting strategies they were comfortable with. While some fans disapproved of the defensive approach, as long as it proves effective, it must be encouraged to achieve results rather than merely entertain the crowd.
By Andrew Nortey
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