Arrest And Prosecute Hooligans In Ghana Football - JE Sarpong Tells NC

Accra Great Olympics gaffer, Joseph Emmanuel Sarpong wants tougher action by football authorities and security agencies to help get rid of violence from Ghana football.

Hooliganism has taken the shine of the ongoing Special Committee at the various stadia.

But according to the former Asante Kotoko head trainer, GFA’s Normalisation Committee must liaise with the state security agencies to ensure the arrest and prosecution of hooligans and those who have turned some sports stadia into a battlefield perpetrating mayhem against innocent football fans, team officials, referees and sports journalists with impunity.

The veteran trainer also called for stiffer sanctions, including possible bans, on those he described as “foul-mouthed football officials “ who have been inciting their supporters to attack visiting teams and fans during matches.

“Hooliganism, like corruption, is a worldwide phenomenon that cuts across all stadia in the world but it is managed [elsewhere] because stringent measures are in place to curb it,” he told Graphic Sports.

Such negative practices, he added, should not be underestimated as it could exacerbate and result in deaths during football matches if not checked.

“The country can’t afford to lose her people through violence at the stadia anymore,” he stated.

On club officials who allegedly incite their fans to create all forms of violence at the stadia, Sarpong cautioned:

“Foul-mouthed officials should not be spared as what they say triggers, foments and incites their supporters to cause violence in some of our stadia.”

He said the FA’s Normalisation Committee should solicit help from both the military and the police to provide security at trouble spots where they could swiftly arrest hooligans and get them prosecuted and hopefully imprisoned without the option of a fine.

Sarpong, who has handled many of Ghana’s elite clubs in three decades, said strong police and military presence at match venues would quickly send strong signals to hooligans whose interest is to create confusion at some stadia and make the local league unattractive to sponsors and spectators.

He said incidents of violence were becoming too many and were undermining an otherwise attractive Special Competition initiated by the FA’s caretaker body.