Soccer News of Monday, 22 October 2001

Source: Kwame Asare Boadu

Okwawu keeper in police cells

....For attacking ref at Sunyani

IN a rather beastly fashion, the Sunyani Coronation Park yesterday recorded yet another nasty incident in the Star Premier League when the reserve goalkeeper of visiting Okwawu United, Alhassan Fatau, charged on referee Joseph Wellington with a football boot moments after the referee had signalled for the end of the match which Bofoakwa won 1-0.

The police, this time, managed to arrest the culprit and whisked him into police cells.

At time press, the player was still in cells and, according to DSP Yartey Tawiah who led the team of policemen to the park, the police would take further action on the matter.

It was an eyesore as the player, who apparently was protesting against the lone goal scored by Bofoakwa’s Clovis Kambou in the 84th minute, rushed from the bench with the boot, but, as he attempted to hit the referee with it, the police came to the rescue of the referee.

Fatau was immediately arrested and taken to the police station.

Referee Wellington, speaking to the Graphic later, expressed shock at the behaviour of the player as the goal was a legal one.

The game itself was fiercely fought, with the players playing it hard on several occasions.

It was no wonder that referee Wellington booked Bofoakwa’s Emmanuel Ampiah and Owusu Sarpong, and Okwawu’s Abdul Karim Midjimah.

The post denied Bofoakwa the first goal in the sixth minute, while Okwawu also grazed the woodwork in the 17th minute.

Bofoakwa, who introduced slippery Kofi Asiedu into the game in the second half, managed to push more men forward and this paid off in the 84th minute.

It was Asiedu who located another substitute, evergreen Ben Kusi, on the right and he crossed beautifully for Clovis Kambou to slot home perfectly.