Collaborate With The Police To Persecute Hooligans – Sports Enthusiast Urges GFA

Mr. Marshall Baah, Founder of Maverick Sports Center and Agency has urged the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to collaborate with the Ghana Police Service to arrest and prosecute hooligans at match centers. 

Speaking in an interview with the GNA Sports in Tema, Mr. Baah emphasized that, the ugly incidence of hooliganism, which has become a norm at some league centers, was so alarming and the GFA should collaborate with the police to apprehend hooligans to curb the growing incidents of violence at match venues. 

According to him, fighting was a criminal offence and it does not matter whether you are fighting inside a football stadium hence security personnel at match venues should take appropriate legal actions against such an act. 

"Only the police have the mandate to arrest criminals. As a football enthusiast, I am urging the GFA to speak to the Police to tighten security in the stadia," he added. 

Mr. Baah said that football hooliganism poses a serious threat to the game and not only brings the game into disrepute but also impacts the number of fans attending league matches. 

“If people are not guaranteed their safety, they would stop coming to stadiums,” he said. 

He noted that with the league games widely followed on the continent and beyond, the citizenry had to be mindful of the image that they project to the rest of the world. 

He encouraged the security personnel at stadia to be strict in enforcing law and order adding that "some of the acts happening at the stadia borders on criminality and should be dealt with as such". 

Mr. Baah explained that every football-minded person knows that the game had three possible outcomes hence the result of the game must be accepted highlighting the need for the GFA not to hesitate to ban identified perpetrators from going to match venues and engaging in football activities.