The Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) has condemned the recent violent acts of some football fans following the clash between Sky FC and Samartex FC and also the assault on some players of Tamale City FC last Sunday.
Some players and officials of Samartex FC were assaulted by Sky FC last month, similar to what happened in the Division One clash against Baffour Soccer Academy and Tamale City FC, where the players and officials of Tamale City FC were beaten by some Baffour Soccer Academy fans at the Twumasi Sports Complex in Nsoatre.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports in a statement described the act as a form of vandalism that should not be encouraged in football.
“The Ministry of Youth and Sports condemns the recent acts of hooliganism and vandalism at the various stadia with specific reference to the match between Sky FC and FC Samartex on Sunday 3rd April 2022 at the Daboase in the Western Region and the match between Baffour Soccer Academy against Tamale City on Sunday 8th May 2022 at the Twumasi Sports complex at Nsoatre in the Bono Region in the Division One League Fixtures.”
According to MoYS, the incident has brought about insecurity and would even affect the number of fans who would be willing to watch football matches at the various stadia.
“It must be noted that football matches serve as entertainment for fans and not an avenue for violence,” it said
The Ministry urged all stakeholders to draw valuable lessons from the May 9 disaster which claimed 127 lives 21 years ago.
It stated that the Government would not condone such acts of violence in any form and urged the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to ensure that such incidents do not reoccur. It said, “
The Ministry has further directed the National Sports Authority, Ghana Football Association, and all other stakeholders to ensure that strict security measures are always in place at the various stadia for subsequent matches to curb any future occurrences and also arrest perpetrators.”
Investigations are still ongoing as the GFA is looking forward to bringing the culprits to book in order to deter others from repeating such acts.
