Obuasi (Ashanti Region) - Obuasi Goldfields Sporting Club have made a formal protest to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) against the unruly behavior of Kumasi Asante Kotoko in their 28th league match played at Kumasi sports stadium last November 3rd.
The protest which touched on the club's ordeal at the pre-match technical meeting, at the main gate of the stadium, at the dressing room, during and after the match was signed by Augustine K. Kessie, the acting managing director of the club.
It observed that Goldfields made an official protest to the match commissioner at the-match’s technical meeting to the effect that they would not honour the match if Kotoko should continue with their threat as indicated by two Kotoko officials namely Messrs George Amoako and Amoa Bosompem at the meeting.
The protest said aided by a police officer with staff number 33105, Kotoko management demanded at the stadium gate that only 18 players and two officials would be allowed to enter the stadium. In the course of the exchanges a Goldfield player, Ofosu Amoah (Tico) was pulled out of the club's bus and assaulted while the head coach, Oti-Akenteng was arrested and detained by the police for well over 20 minutes for allegedly slapping a policeman.
Kessie said when the bus was finally allowed entry into the stadium, Kotoko fans who had besieged the VIP area rushed on the bus and did whatever pleased them including ransacking of their bags. In the process, items estimated at about ?50m in the supporters bus including a video camera, one large iced chest and the windscreen of Luigi Balduzzi's car were smashed.
The protest said two club officials who were at the VVIP area to assist to rescue the players and the technical men were severely beaten up by the rowdy supporters of Kotoko. It also expressed surprise that some Kotoko officials looked on as the angry supporters petted water sachets and insults on Gus Kessie and Akwasi Acheampong of Goldfields.
The protest also mentioned the deep involvement of Herbert Mensah, chief executive of Kotoko in the drama to the extent that he questioned the regional sports development officer why security was been beefed up at the stadium and instructed that Goldfields officials should be left alone to their destiny.
The six-page protest which was copied to the chairmen of the disciplinary committee of the GFA, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, Professional league board and board of directors of Goldfields sporting club, demanded immediate justice. We hope we can count on you to help move barbarism and chaos from Ghana soccer and make it free from any form of intimidation whatsoever, it said.
