Referee Assault: Circulating Video Doesn’t Reflect Incident – Paa Kwesi Nduom
The owner of Division One side Elmina Sharks, Paa Kwesi Nduom says the video clip in circulation does not reflect what actually transpired after their Sunday game against All Blacks which ended in a 1-0 defeat.
A video of the incident which has gone viral showed the player and others attempting to attack Eso Doh Morrison, the officiating referee for Matchday 17 Access Bank Division One League while he was making his way to the tunnel.
Elmina Sharks midfielder Jay Asamoah Kola is later captured grabbing sand and throwing it at the referee while some police officers tried protecting him from his attackers.
In reaction to this, Paa Kwesi who was at the match venue said the contrary happened as he chastised persons who have been criticizing his team for hooliganism.
“Some people take certain portions of a video and say the fans in Elmina are hooligans when they don’t understand what happened. Don’t take a clip and say, Shouldn’t someone take responsibility?” he said in an interview on GTV Sports Plus.
According to him, the blame must be put on the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for its actions and inactions over safety and security.
“It is the GFA. They take responsibility. They must make everybody safe. They must make the games entertaining; they must pay the referees appropriately and pay everybody well, not just take FIFA money and go and rest somewhere.”
In a Facebook post, he waded into the penalty that was awarded against his team calling it “dubious”.
“This cannot be Ghana Football. What has happened here in Elmina, today, is a clear example of some of what has been destroying our football. 12 minutes into the match between the Sharks and All Blacks, a very dubious penalty was awarded against a Sharks player who was obviously the one who suffered from dangerous play by the All Blacks player.”
He claimed that it took his intervention to calm the nerves of his players and fans at the match venue for the game to continue after the penalty.
“Talking to the match officials and the Match Commissioner, the attitude was one of ‘we don’t care’. One of them was more concerned about police presence than fair officiating and play.”
He feels that filing a protest against the referee would be of no use.
“There is video recording of what happened. But what’s the point when even you filed a protest nothing comes out of it. Which is why unfortunately some people misbehave during and after the matches.”
The GFA has since charged Jay with assault.
Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini
