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

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Bechem United face Accra Great Olympics with both teams facing the possibility of being relegated from the top flight.

Ahead of Sunday’s  final games, Olympics lie 15th in the table, one point behind Tema Youth in the 14th and a further point off their hosts who are just above the relegation zone.

A win today for Bechem would guarantee their survival while Olympics would need other results to go their way to stand a chance of staying up.

With so much at stake, reports of match-fixing that have characterised crunch league fixtures in the past have re-emerged heading into the weekend.

The game was scheduled to be broadcast live on television, however, those plans might have been scuppered by the fans’ actions.

The entrance to the stadium was blocked off by a truck that had been driven in front of it while some fans can be heard in videos screaming at the TV crew to “go to Kumasi” instead.

GTV Sports Plus also reported that “the TV Director for the Match was prevented from attending the Pre-Match meeting and was escorted out of the premises by two gentlemen believed to be Bechem United Fans.”

The crew have since filed a report at the Bechem Police station.

It’s unclear why the fans have taken this action and whether this will affect this game and all the others which are supposed to kick-off at the same time

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The debutants, Bechem United qualified to play in the competition after beating Okwawu United 2-1 in the final.

The former Champions League Winners MC Alger will travel to Ghana for the first leg of the draw between 10-12th of January next year.

Bechem United the sole Ghanaian representative will play the second leg at Algers in Algeria on the 17-19th of January in 2017.

In their quest to hoist the flag of Ghana, Bechem United will count on the expertise of former Ghana Premier league goal king, Ahmed Toure to go far in the tourney.

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Source: GNA

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Antwi surprisingly fell behind Ernest Sowah and Felix Annan meaning his game time was ultimately limited.

In his bit to gain more playing time Antwi has decided to look elsewhere with a host of clubs in the Ghana Premier League inquiring about the possibility of signing him on for the upcoming season. Bechem United who will be playing in the CAF Confederation Cup next season have showed great interest while Inter Allies want to make him their first choice goalkeeper in the coming season.

“Bechem United and Inter Allies have both contacted me for my services but Kotoko is discouraging them with huge price tag which I think is unjust to treat a player like that but I want to tell all Ghanaians that Ofori Antwi will never play for Kotoko again and even if I should remain in the house till next year August where my contract with them will expire, I will do that’’.

He told ATL FM of Cape Coast. The next Ghana Premier League season is set to start on December 18.

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By:Rahman Osman/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The money received will be a huge boost to the club who are expected to use it in renovating the Nana Gyeabour Park where they will be playing their matches in the Confederation Cup.

The donation was delivered by Chief of staff Julius Debrah on behalf of the President in fulfillment of a promise made by the NDC Presidential aspirant during a political tour in the Brong-Ahofo Region.

The President in addition promised to put up an astro-turf in Bechem all in an aim of improving infrastructure in that region.

Bechem United will be playing in the CAF Confederation Cup for the first time in their history after beating Okwawu United in the final.

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By: Rahman Osman/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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It’s been long in coming since Brazil first hosted the World Cup 64 years ago, football’s biggest global tournament returning to the country which has made the ‘Beautiful Game’ its home and given the world some of the sport’s finest ambassadors such as Pele, Garrincha, Zico, Ronaldo and Neymar Jnr. Brazil 2014 is going to be a festival of gigantic proportions not only in the 12 stadia but also in the streets, fun parks and beaches.

Despite the negative publicity occasioned by massive demonstration by Brazilians against the massive investment in the tournament, delays in meeting deadlines for completion of stadia and other organisational challenges, there is little doubt that the elaborately-planned opening ceremony will usher in four weeks of global celebration among people who will converge on Brazil from far flung places, including visitors from non-participating nations.

With 32 nations chasing one golden prize — the coveted  5kg, 18-carat gold trophy which is the symbol of world football authority — over four weeks, Brazil will naturally turn into the world’s capital with global media focusing on football and related issues.

For a nation noted for throwing the most spectacular carnivals, today’s opening ceremony is expected to be unusually brief, compared to the elaborate spectacle four years ago in Johannesburg when the World Cup was hosted on African soil for the first time.

American pop diva Jennifer Lopez (J-Lo) will highlight a 25-minute display starting at 6.15p.m. (Ghana time). J-Lo will sing the official FIFA song, “We Are One (Ole Ola)” alongside rapper Pitbull and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte.

The ceremony will take place in daytime, so there will be no fireworks, but the ‘capoeira’ (a Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music) will be performed, while Brazil’s ‘treasures’ are to be represented in the show by characters and props.

More than 600 dancers, gymnasts, trampolinists and stilt walkers will perform alongside a ‘living’ LED ball at the ceremony to be watched by scores of high-profile dignitaries led by Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff and world football chief Joseph Sepp Blatter who will jointly declare the tournament open.

The ceremony will be the prelude to the much-anticipated opening match of the tourney. As the world’s most successful team with five World Cup wins, the Seleção are expected to set the tournament alive with a win against Croatia in the opening match this evening.

Brazilians are determined to  banish the ghost of the 1950 World Cup when they were defeated by regional rivals, Uruguay, in a tournament they were widely tipped to win as hosts.

However, they may draw comfort from World Cup history as no host nation has ever lost the opening match.

Nonetheless, Felipe Scolari’s men take to the pitch carrying the burden of expectation of 201 million Brazilians who always expect the five-times world champion to steamroll over their opponents like a juggernaut, particularly on home soil.

With posterboy Neymar Jnr carrying the country’s hopes, it is important that the Brazilians score first to ease the pressure on the team and ride on the wave of partisan support, as the talented Croatians could suffer from the absence of suspended Mario Mandzukic, who was red-carded in the play-off game against Iceland last November.

The star-studded Seleção start as favourites with an impressive build-up, having averaged 2.58 goals per game (scoring two or more goals in 84 per cent of those matches).

In their only World Cup clash, Brazil run away with a lone goal victory over Croatia in a Group F encounter at the Olympiastadion in Berlin eight years ago. And their only other clash came nine years ago when the two sides drew 1-1 in an international friendly in Split, Croatia.

Scolari is expected to start familiar faces which won the Confederations Cup last year, with players such as Hulk, Willian and Fred playing alongside Neymar.

However, Croatia boss Niko Kovac has no such luxuries. Danijel Pranjic is unlikely to start after he picked up a nasty ankle injury in the final warm-up fixture against Australia in Salvador at the weekend.

The Panathinaikos defender joins fellow left-back Ivan Strinic on the sidelines.

Source: Graphic Sports

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