Arrest Soccer Hooligans … Dzamefe Commission Demands

The commission during one of its sittings.
The  Dzamefe  Presidential  Commission  of Inquiry has tasked officials of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to collaborate with Ghana Police in arresting and prosecuting rowdy fans during football matches.

The initiative, according to the commission, would help to eradicate hooliganism in football and minimize violent situations in matches. 

The Chairman of the Commission, Justice Senyo Dzamefe,  stated this when the Commission held a public forum in Takoradi on Monday.  

The local football game is sometimes embroiled in fan riots and physical attacks on match officials. Several cases of assault against match officials have been reported at different centres throughout the country of late.

It would be recalled that one Kwame Kyei Andoh, a football referee, was physically assaulted by some angry supporters in a lower division game in the Western Region resulting in the death of the young official.  

The forum afforded the Commissioners the opportunity to hear the views of the public concerning the work of the commission so far and also discuss other pertinent issues in relation to football and the other 'lesser sports'.

The chairman of the Western Regional Football Association (RFA), Kojo Yankah had earlier bemoaned the various acts of violence recorded at some of the centres during matches.

Justice Dzamefe urged the RFA chairman to work with the Police to arrest hooligans and put them before court so that it would send a message to others.

'You can even ban the clubs whose supporters engaged in acts of violence during football matches so that the officials could be protected', he added.

He indicated that football matches were not alien to the laws of Ghana, adding that 'until we do that, those people will not stop'.

Commissioner Moses Foh-Amoaning appealed to the district assemblies to help upgrade the various community parks as part of efforts to develop football and the other games at the local level.

Nana Kobina Nketsiah, Omanhene of Essikado Traditional Area, urged players of the various national teams to play for Ghana not because of money, but in the spirit of patriotism.

From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi