Division One League: Hooliganism in Ghana football

Football is a passionate game. In Ghana, especially lower division , it is like saying cliff-walking is a dangerous one. At every level the passion transcends, but it is the most tribalistic in Ghana's lower tier. How many people do you know who can transform from run-of-the-mill Mr. Average to vein-through-the-head Mr. Angry, and all because of a contentious penalty decision?

The game brings to the surface emotions that don't usually appear in everyday life, the anger, the venom, the vitriol, the bitterness, the greed, the elation, the relief. They are all extremities too. If a referee disallows a perfectly good goal, it's as if he has burgled your shed. If your side secures a late winner, you act like it's the birth of your first child. All conventional logic goes out of the window when football is involved. It's a primal game.

play A referee's shirt drenched with blood