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OPINION: Ban on Hearts of Oak will send football backwards, and must be reviewed

By ghanasoccernet.com
League Report OPINION: Ban on Hearts of Oak will send football backwards, and must be reviewed
MAY 6, 2016 LISTEN

The news of the three home match ban on Accra Hearts of Oak to play in closed doors is one that has the tendencies of taking football backwards especially at a time when average attendance to match venues has become a matter of concern.

It will be good news to hear that misbehaving fans are made not to watch their darling club play, but the larger implication of this kind of ban must be considered.

The decision to ban home clubs from playing in front of their own fans has become a thing of the past, especially when just a section of the over 20, 000 teaming fans Misbehaved.

What the disciplinary committee has done is like 'throwing away the baby with the bad water'.

When Hearts of oak played Asante Kotoko, a gross amount of 450,000 Ghana cedis was raised which in essence means the GFA stood to gain close to 45,000 Ghana Cedis as its share, to this effect, the GFA will lose any amount that may have been accrued in the home matches the club would have played.

Football has gone with a certain ambience which includes the availability of fans at the various stadias, these fans add up to the excitement and the complete nature of football, that is even why FIFA is considering having sponsorship package for the fans at major tournaments.

In my opinion, hearts of Oak could have been made to pay huge sums of monies that may come from the matches to which they have been banned from making money, And also losing their home support.

The disciplinary committee could have asked Hearts of Oak to pay to the football governing body (GFA) between 50 -70 percent of the net amount of monies made in the matches involved, in this case football becomes the ultimate beneficiary, the monies paid by fans to ensure the growth of their club will end up at the coffers of the GFA which in turn will be used in developing the game. A careful analysis of this ban will inform stakeholders of how much money is going to be lost during the period.

I have always asked that football violence be treated as any other violence, fans who misbehave at match venues must be dealt with just as any other criminal walking on the streets of Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi etc.

Football must not be made to suffer such faith just because a group of people who could have easily been identified and punished are rather made to walk free while the clubs, and other stakeholders suffers.

Once the Disciplinary committee found a way of identifying two culprits in the said violence, the same proceedure could habe been made to bring to book all those involved.

The last time a club was banned from playing in an empty stadium was way back in 2013 in Italy, such bans have lost their essence.

I urge Hearts of Oak to seek for an appeal, and the disciplinary committee must also consider the financial benefits of the GFA, the club, and other stakeholders in their case should an appeal be made.

Opinionated By: Chief Seidu Adamu

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