The Ghana Football Association’s Executive Council has shut down Karela United’s Cosby Awuah Memorial indefinitely with immediate effect.
Irate fans Karela United at Aiyinase staged a riotous behaviour in the aftermath of their 2-1 home loss to Medeama SC in the MTN FA Cup round of 32 clash which left match officials and players of the opposing team sustaining various degrees of injury and left several properties damaged.
A statement from the GFA reads: “The Executive Council has accordingly exercised its powers under Articles 14(2) and 14(3) of the Ghana Premier League Regulations and has banned the venue indefinitely. The Regulations empowers the GFA to order the closure of any league centre/venue where the safety of clubs, match officials and/or spectators cannot be guaranteed”.
The GFA Prosecutors have been tasked to proffer the appropriate Charges and for the Disciplinary Committee to sit on this matter expeditiously. The Association has instructed the Competitions Department to fix the venues for the upcoming home matches of Karela United FC with due regards to the distance to be travelled by the away teams (note that matches can be fixed at the home of the away team, if required).
Medeama raised red flags ahead of the clash as the Tarkwa-based club officially wrote to the Ghana FA over what they suspected could be a hostile atmosphere in Aiyinase. Obviously no serious action was taken by the FA, leaving the Yellow and Mauves exposed as they travelled to the venue.
However leadership of the two clubs’ supporters union held a crucial meeting to iron out their issues and reportedly smoked the peace pipe.
