AFCON 2023: GFA tightens security at Ghana's hotel after fan ‘attack’ on Hughton

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) says it has tightened security at the Black Stars’ hotel following a row between an angry fan and Chris Hughton.

An irate Ghanaian supporter confronted the Ghana coach after the Black Stars’ 2-1 defeat to Cape Verde in their opening game of the 2023 AFCON.

In the aftermath of the game, an angry Ghanaian fan is said to have confronted Hughton at the team’s hotel and hurled invectives at him.

The incident was prevented from further escalating when Ivorian security officers stepped in to whisk the aggressive supporter away.

Speaking to the BBC, the GFA’s spokesperson Henry Asante-Twum said the matter has since been “dealt with internally.”

He also disclosed that security at the Pullman Hotel Abidjan-Plateau, where the Black Stars are currently lodged, has been “beefed up.”

Normally after games, tempers are high, emotions go up - we will try as much as possible to not allow this thing to repeat itself,” Asante-Twum added, as quoted by the BBC.

Meanwhile, some Ghanaian supporters who were transported by the government to the Ivory Coast for the 2023 AFCON have reportedly been compensated with $400 after threatening to return home.

According to a report by Citi Sports, the payment was made after the supporters threatened to return home due to the lack of coordination and support from the organising bodies.

The report said the fans, numbering over 300, had felt neglected after touching down in the Ivory Coast to support the Black Stars.

A journalist who spoke on condition of anonymity is quoted as saying officials met the aggrieved supporters and compensated them to stay and continue supporting the national team in Ivory Coast.

“There is good news. Yesterday after the story broke, around midnight, in fact most of us here went to sleep before the officials came and they came to call us and they gave us what we were due,” the journalist is quoted as saying by Citi Sports.

“I am not aware but what I do know from some of the dwellers [from other hotels] is that they also received $400 as those at the hotel [I am] received.

“For the entire tournament, in fact, officials were unable to tell us, so we don’t know if this [$400] is going to be for the entire tournament.”

The Black Stars will be hoping to do better when they face Egypt in their next group game.

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