Yesterday, the 9th of May, marked exactly twenty years since the most regrettable moment of our football history which rocked the very foundation of our nation occurred.
On May 9th 2001, a Premier League match between Ghana’s two most glamourous clubs, Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko, at the Accra Sports Stadium, which was meant to provide entertainment, took a dramatic turn.
Wild jubilation by Hearts supporters was met with a sharp contrast of protestation by Kotoko supporters, who felt cheated by a decision of the referee.
The situation, which turned chaotic and became known as May 9th stadium disaster, regrettably claimed the lives of one hundred and twenty-six people, who only went to the stadium to have fun and go back home peacefully.
This regrettable incident, which could have been avoided, put Ghana under a negative spot light and affected the country’s image internationally.
As a matter of fact, the May 9th disaster became, and still remains, the worst stadium disaster to have ever happened in the history of the Continent of Africa.
Since its occurrence exactly twenty years now, on the 9th of the month of May every year, a commemoration is held in remembrance of those who perished during the disaster.
We, at The Chronicle, have noticed that during any commemorative event in honour of the supporters who lost their lives, one message that runs through has been the phrase “Never again should this happen.”
The message, perhaps, reflects how regrettable that gory incident was, its psychological impact and its concomitant effects on the minds of those who survived it, and those who lost their breadwinners in the process.
It is on this note that The Chronicle would like to call on Ghanaians in general, football administrators, enthusiasts, commentators, and all major stakeholders to critically reflect soberly on the slogan “Never again should this happen.”
We are concerned about this slogan, because although we keep promising never to allow such a calamity to happen again in our history, it is clear that those promises are mere lip service.
This is because twenty years after the calamity, acts of hooliganism, intimidation, attacks and beating of referees, coaches, security personnel, and even football players, continue to be experienced at some league centres.
Recently, a Division One League game turned bloody when the centre referee was attacked and mercilessly beaten by a group of supporters who were not impressed with his performance.
It is also a fact that some supporters often use violence and acts of hooliganism as a means of settling scores with referees whose decisions might have gone against their clubs.
There are so many examples of how club officials, often perceived to be carrying “juju,” are molested, manhandled, and often beaten to pulp before, during, or after matches.
We are of the strong opinion that we cannot keep claiming that we have learned lessons from the 2001 unfortunate incident, but keep engaging in acts of hooliganism during matches.
It is an undeniable fact that it feels so painful when a club has to taste a painful defeat through a referee’s error or negligence, but visiting mayhem on him or her cannot be the best solution.
It is in the light of this that some referees who have officiated outside the rules of the game have been named, shamed, and sanction by the appropriate quarters to serve as deterrents to others.
This is gradually yielding some positive results, as officiating this season, particularly in the Premiership, has witnessed some sort of improvement.
We, therefore, want to call on supporters, administrators and all who those who matter in our football to understand that violence has never been the best tool for settling disagreements.
The desire to beat up supporters of opponents, officiating officials, as well as those who disagree with us during football matches, only portrays that we have not learned any lessons from the 2001 deadly incident.
Should we be guided by the May 9th disaster and reflect deeply about how it occurred, we believe that there is no way that any form of violence must be witnessed at any league centre across the country again.
The ‘Never Again…’ slogan must not remain mere lip service, but we must rise above hooliganism at league centres to ensure that, indeed, such a calamity would never occur again in our lifetimes.
It would not be out of place if banners of the incident that occurred twenty years ago are hung at the various league centres with the inscription “Never again must any stadium disaster happen in Ghana.”
This, we believe, would go a long way to ensure that all forms of hooliganism would be avoided to make our game great and strong.
The post Editorial: Twenty years after May 9th Disaster: Any hard lessons learned? appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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