By Saul Sebag-Montefiore
Football is known as the beautiful game, however, in the division 1 qualifier between Elmina Sharks and the All Blacks things turned nasty as players, management staff and fans poured onto the pitch as violence erupted at Sudu Park.
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| Hooligans running riot |
He continued, ‘I don’t know why the players had to fight at the end of the match. I know that supporters lose their heads but the players are brothers to each other and they should never do such a thing. I do not think what happened with the penalty merited a player attacking another player. The penalty was taken, whether rightly or wrongly, and the other side were aggrieved because they where going to lose and indeed they lost after the kick had been taken. After the spot kick they did not attack anybody, so I do not see why players should go and attack players.’
On the subject of whether further action will be taken against the perpetrators Mr Doe stated that, ‘the match commissioner’s report, the referee’s report, and the reports of the two clubs will be pieced together and we will decide whether to take action from there.’
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| Both teams huddle before kick-off |
The match started innocently enough as the Elmina Sharks dominated the first-half while the All Blacks looked powerful but lacked cutting edge upfront. On the other hand the Shark’s nifty number 5 managed to wriggle free from the All Black’s defense on numerous occasions and had a few good efforts on goal. The Elmina Sharks played good football, limiting the All Blacks to a series of wild, futile long distance efforts that skidded and bounced haplessly wide of the post. Eventually, the number 5 sped into the box and was taken down clumsily by the All Black’s goalkeeper and a penalty was awarded. Shouts and cries of displeasure rained down on the referee’s decision from fans who believed it to be the incorrect decision. The discomfort of the All Black’s fans was increased when the first attempt that was saved by the keeper was ruled void by the referee because the keeper strayed from the goal line before the spot kick was taken. The penalty was converted on the second attempt and shouts of ‘Corruption! Corruption!’ were chanted in the stands. The black, bubbling pot of anger against the referee was brewing in the hearts of the All Black’s supporters.
After conceding the goal there was a sudden burst of urgency from the All Blacks. This resulted in a significant improvement in their attacking play. For the first time in the match the Elmina Shark’s goal was being threatened as the powerful number 66, Francis, sent a header flashing just wide of the left hand post. However, while all the All Black’s held possession the better chances fell to the Sharks as they counter-attacked effectively, keeping the All Black’s shot stopper busy. A notable opportunity was a quick break away that ended with a venomous, accurate strike from the Shark’s number 7 that the keeper did well to palm away. The half-time whistle blew and the Edina Sharks walked off with a deserved 1-0 lead.
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| Powerful All Blacks striker challenges for a header |
The second half was a different story as the All Blacks came out fighting and they looked a different team. There was a spell of intense pressure which pushed the taken aback Edina Sharks to retreat almost to the goal line as the desperately tried to preserve their slender lead. There was a great strike from the All Black’s nippy number 27, Charles Appaieh, that cruelly, smashed into the woodwork. The Elmina Sharks manager saw the danger and made an attacking substitution when putting the speedy winger, Samuel Boateng, on to encourage the Sharks to break out of the wall of pressure that they were being put under. The Black’s deserved an equalizer and it came just minutes after the substitution when Appaieh, who had been a constant menace to the Shark’s defense during the second-half, calmly slotted the ball home into the bottom right-hand corner. From this point on, the second half was like a mirror image of the first with the Sharks coming on strongly after conceding but with no end product and the All Black’s counter-attacking effectively with some good strikes on goal. It looked as though the All Black’s would go onto clinch the victory but the frustrations and claims of injustice from the fans rose further as the referee gave a series of decisions against the All Black’s. The match descended into chaos after the referee gave a second penalty to the Elmina Sharks. There were waves of dissent and vicious abuse aimed at the referee as the All Black’s management staff and players surrounded the referee accusing him of corruption and bias. Play was stopped until the outraged management staff were removed from the pitch. The tension of the situation was not helped when the penalty was calmly put away by the Elmina Shark’s goalkeeper making the score 2-1 with hardly any time for the All Black’s to recover. Sure enough the final whistle blew and then the bloodbath began.
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| Management staff and players chase the referee |
The violence began as the All Black’s players chased after an Elmina Shark’s player attempting to kick and maim him. The other players joined in and then yet again the management staff entered the fray, followed by angry hooligans. The beautiful game descended into a full on brawl and the referee’s were quickly ushered away from the pitch under the protection of armed police. It was absolute bedlam: players were fighting players, fans were fighting fans/players, and staff were fighting staff and referees as they argued over the penalty decisions. Eventually the stadium was cleared of hooligans and the bloodied and wounded were gathered up by the medical teams. This is not the image of football that Ghana wants to project and it was a savage, and distasteful end to a competitive, interesting football match.
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