Referees considering boycott of Ghana Premier League

Referees are considering boycotting the ongoing Ghana Premier League to protest against violence towards match officials in the top flight and first division, according to Referees Association of Ghana chairman Joe Debrah.

The safety of officials has become a pressing issue following troubling incidents in GPL matches earlier this week.

The game between Elimna Sharks and Medeama was called off at half time after referee Nuhu Liman was injured as he made his way to the dressing room following a testy first half.

"I have received several calls and text messages from referees around the country who are tired of the situation and afraid of what might happen next," Debrah told KweséESPN.

"They want us to boycott the league but I have asked them to stay calm because we will push for the protection we deserve," he added. "This is not the time to boycott anything."

Joy Sports are one local source to have reported that referee Liman was injured by supporters after a tempestuous 45 minutes of football, but a statement issued by Sharks insists that the official injured himself in an accident.

"The police escorted Nuhu Liman out of the pitch into the dressing room," began the statement. "When the referee got to the foyer, he tripped and fell, injuring himself on one of the policemen present's baton.

"He sustained an injury to the forehead."

Medeama dispute that, and have claimed on their Twitter handle that the referee was attacked by "irate Sharks fans."

It is the second time Liman has been assaulted this season after he was attacked by fans of Berekum Chelsea following a 1-1 draw against Dreams FC last month.

"We are very worried that what is turning out into a beautiful season could be marred by this," Ibrahim Sannie Daara, Communications Director of the Ghana Football Association told KweséESPN.

The Ghana Premier League has a history of violence and referee abuse, with water bottles and stones often deployed as weapons for supporters to protest against refereeing calls that they disagree with.

Debrah says the abuse of referees is increasing simply because they have improved in their jobs.

"We have told the referees that if you favour teams and make the wrong calls, we would clamp down on you through the Match Review Panel that reviews major decisions during a game," he continued. "So they go to these league centres and simply don't care who is the home team or the away teams.

"They are officiating the game as fairly as they can and too many home fans can't deal with that."

Kwabena Yeboah, President of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana, believes that the GPL must step in to increase harsher measures in order to secure the officials' safety.

"Hefty fines are proving insufficient so we need to start forcing guilty clubs to start playing behind closed doors for long periods and given them long home bans," he told KweséESPN.

"The violence against referees can't continue. All of us know that referees make bad calls but the solution cannot be assault and exerting brutality on them."