The management of Ghana Premier League Side, Sekondi Hasaacas has denied media reports that a Supersport TV cameraman was manhandled and had his equipment destroyed by a ‘machoman’ hired by club officials during their league match against Ashantigold at the Sekondi Stadium last Sunday.
In a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of Hasaacas, Benjamin Quansah, The Sekondi based club described the allegations as contemptuous, unprofessional and totally false; and something meant to bring the name of a media-friendly club like Sekondi Hasaacas F/C into disrepute.
“The media has been very supportive in the coverage and promotion of our games and we would not adopt any antagonistic tactics to stifle the work of our great partners. As a law-abiding club, we complied with a GFA/PLB directive and allowed Supersport to cover our league game against Techiman City FC about a fortnight ago at the Sekondi Sports stadium,” it stated.
“Indeed, the Ashgold TV team told our Deputy Chief Executive, Mr Ofori Acquah, when they arrived at the stadium, that they were there to cover the game and use the excerpts for Ashgold TV on DSTV but he did not accede to their request. They violated the rules and sought permission from the match commissioner, Mr Arthur Dadzie, but he and other stakeholders agreed that Ashgold TV could not cover the match since they did not make that request at the prematch meeting.
“This was communicated to them and they returned with a GoTV camera to cover the game in defiance of the rejection of their earlier request for the coverage of the game,” it explained.
The statement pointed out that the norm is that any club that wishes to cover a match will first have to apply to the GFA for permission and, when granted, a fee is paid and the receipt is then shown at a pre-match technical meeting for all stakeholders to be aware of it before a coverage is sanctioned.
