B.A. United receive three home-match ban

The Disciplinary Committee of the Ghana Football Association has handed Brong Ahafo United a three-match ban from their Sunyani Coronation Park home for violence perpetrated by their supporters against supporters of Accra Hearts of Oak.

A release of the Ghana Football Association announcing the decision of the committee said supporters of United threw missiles at the supporters of Hearts of Oak in their 25th Week league match, injuring some of them in the process. The match ended goalless.

The missile throwing, according to the release, was brought under control only after the military were brought in. It said the Committee arrived at the decision after a careful study of the case referred to it by the Professional League Board and evidence adduced before it by United and Hearts of Oak.

But the Committee further warned of more drastic punishment should B.A. United fans be found to have repeated their acts. In that instance, United would be banned from ever using the Coronation Park for their matches.

In the meantime, they are also to pay a fine of three million cedis. With the decision, United may have to play their next league game against Heart of Lions, incidentally their last game for the season, away from the Sunyani Park.

And should United survive the premiership for the 2004 season, they would have to start the season with a handicap as they would be expected to serve out the rest of the ban. That means that United may not see action at the Sunyani park until after the fourth week.

In another development, the Committee has also fined Okwawu United two million cedis in respect of their match against Liberty Professionals who won 2:0 at Mpraeso but the match points awarded to Liberty who won a protest against Okwawu for fielding an unqualified player.

Okwawu have also been asked to pay transport costs to Liberty in accordance with Article 35 Clause 4a of the GFA Regulations.

The clause provides that in the case of a league match, the defaulting Club shall lose 3 points from the Club’s accumulated points from other previous matches. In addition, the Club shall be fined ?2,000,000, 50 percent of which shall go to the opposing Club. And where the defaulting Club is playing at home the transportation expenses of the opposing Club shall also be paid by the defaulting Club. Etc.

The Committee has already recommended that Okwawu lose three further points apart from being declared losers of the match.