Ghana Premier League side, Bechem United, has been fined GHS 105,000 for misconduct by the Disciplinary Committee of the Ghana Football Association.
The decision was announced by the GFA on Wednesday after the Disciplinary Committee sat on the case.
According to the ruling of the Disciplinary Committee, Bechem United was found guilty of three charges of misconduct and breaches of the GFA’s General Regulations.
The breaches occurred on October 22, 2017, which was the final day of the Ghana Premier League season when Bechem United took on Accra Great Olympics in a match which had a huge effect on the survival chances of the two teams.
According to the ruling, Bechem United’s fans were said to have “insulted and intimidated” match officials at the entrance of the Bechem Park. The fans were said to have broken eggs and cursed the match officials.
These acts were in breach of Article 35(1b), 35(3a&c), 35(4), 35(7a&d) and 35(9) of the GFA General Regulations and Article 56, 58 and 66(1&3) of the GFA Disciplinary Code.
The team’s second charge was not allowing media rights holders, StarTimes, to broadcast the match live on television per the agreed schedule between itself and the clubs.
The main route to the stadium was blocked by a broken down truck and the club said it had no idea of the owner of the truck.
But the GFA’s Disciplinary Committee said that the team had the responsibility “to police the marketing rights and Access Rights of the Association. This obligation is very clear and it is therefore not enough for a club to play aloof by claiming they do not know who left the truck blocking the link road to the stadium.”
The Disciplinary Committee stated that the act was in contravention of a breach of Article 35(4), and 35(9) of the GFA General Regulations and Article 66(1&3) of the GFA Disciplinary Code.
The team’s fans were said not to have allowed the StarTimes crew to find alternative means of broadcasting the match and that went against Bechem United in the ruling.
The team’s final infraction had to do with its usage of an unapproved gate when entering the stadium for the match. The Disciplinary Committee stated that the act breached Article 23(4b) of the GFA General Regulations.
Bechem United has 14-days to pay the fine and in the event of failure, the team will forfeit all matches sanctioned by the GFA.
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By: Citi Sports/Ghana