Maxbees accuse Kotoko fans of assault

The management of Maxbees has alleged that their players and officials were viciously assaulted by Kotoko fans after last Sunday's league match at the Kumasi Stadium and therefore called on the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to apply the appropriate sanctions on them.

Reacting to the incident which resulted in their two-hour detention in the dressing room after the match which Kotoko won 1-0, Mr Sarbahn Quaye, team manager of Maxbees explained that they were compelled to come out to set the records straight following the wrong impression being created by some radio stations.

According to Sarbahn Quaye, Kotoko's Hamza Mohammed sustained a cut on his right eye-brow following a mid-air collision with Maxbees defender Ben Adjei during the game. He categorically denied reports that Ben Adjei stamped on his opponent while on the turf, adding that such an act could have attracted a card from the referee.

He was, however, surprised about the behaviour of the Kotoko supporters since, according to him, everything went on well before and during the match.

He noted that even Maxbees did not complain about the early exit of their livewire, Mumuni Massaudu, following a tackle by Kotoko's Dan Acquah.

According to him, the post-match incident was triggered by his Kotoko counterpart, Alhaji Haruna, when he charged on Ben Adjei in the tracks in the full glare of all when they were heading towards the dressing room.

He revealed that the behaviour by the Kotoko team manager aroused the emotions of the home fans to call for Ben Adjei's blood.

He said a Kotoko fan hit Adjei with a stone on the head at the entrance to the dressing room thus opening a deep cut in the process.

He said the irate fans who besieged the entrance managed to crush the main door to the dressing room but were restrained by the timely intervention of the heavy police presence led by DSP Buabeng.

According to Sarbahn Quaye, the police who positioned themselves right in front of the dressing room succeeded in taming the irate fans through the use of water canon and tear gas.

He indicated that the fans again resisted the police fiercely at the main gate when the team was being escorted to the Ejisu Police Station, but the security personnel again lived up to their responsibilities by overpowering them eventually.

He revealed that the team finally left Ejisu at 9.30 p.m. and arrived in Accra at 2 a.m. on Monday.