May 9 match called off in bizarre circumstances
May 9 match called off in bizarre circumstances
Posted: 2011-05-15 13:53
A commemoration match put together by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to mark 10 years since the May 9 Stadium Disaster created confusion after it was called off.
The Ministry had called the match between Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak to foster a better relationship between the two clubs, who were the teams in action when 126 football fans died.
But Hearts of Oak turned up with mostly ex-players, and the goalkeeper of national women's football team the Black Queens, Memunatu Suleimana, as well as some management members, including public relations manager Albert Commey.
Under the terms of the friendly game both clubs were allowed to field guest players but Hearts say Kotoko had flouted that by naming almost a full-strength squad.
The bizarre happenings will be of concern to the Ministry of Sport who had been keen to use the game to make a point or two about stadium safety.
The two clubs were the main actors when 126 football fans died, after police fired tear gas to disperse protesting Kotoko fans who were ripping off plastic seats at the stadium and hauling them onto the pitch in protest at a Hearts goal.
The Phobians have insisted since then that the official enquiry was unduly silent on the part the Kotoko fans played in the disaster, which is the worst to have happened on the African continent.
: 2011-05-15 16:20
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