Match officials refereeing a Ghanaian Division One match were beaten severely by fans which resulted in the referee losing all his teeth. The match between Mighty Royals and Tano Bofoakwa which took place on March 28, 2021 at the Wamanafo Park in Dormaa in the Bono Region of Ghana took a drastic yet unpalatable turn when angry fans descended on match officials over poor officiating. The match which abruptly ended in a goalless draw saw referee Naitre Suntuo Aziz receive the lion share of the beatings from the crowd.
According to the video footage, the fans were heard vowing to beat the match officials to death after the pitch was invaded and the match officials assaulted. It took the intervention of the overpowered police and security officials to rescue these poor powerless match officials from the claws of these hungry fans. They were escorted into their dressing room after sustaining varying degrees of physical abuse and injuries. The match officials who were attacked are referee Niatre Suntuo Aziz, assistant referees Sumleman Mohammed and Yakubu Abdul and fourth official Hasim Yakubu.
While the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has earlier ordered for fans not to be present at the stadiums and match centres due to the coming into force of the Covid-induced restrictions, the fans still found their way to the park and this barbaric incident gives meaning to how low Ghana’s football has sunk and how volatile our national security has become. According to history, matches between these two sides have always shown instances of hooliganism and outright abuse of power. The home team and their fans usually capitalize on this advantage to either beat match officials or cleverly manipulate the games in their favour.
Source: GHbase