A supporter of Kumasi Asante Kotoko has been hospitalized after he was shot by police.
The incident occurred in an attempt by the police to quell violence which broke out on the pitch after the dismissal of Kotoko defender, Empem Dacosta.
Dacosta’s second yellow card proved costly as the Porcupine Warriors lost by one goal against Berekum Chelsea in the Ghana Premier League played at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Sunday.
Aggrieved Kotoko spectators threw missiles onto the field. A few of the supporters gained access to the inner perimeter of the football field and the shots were fired in an attempt to protect the referee and his assistants.
The injured supporter was hit in the head and was rushed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for treatment after bleeding profusely, Kumasi FM’s Elisha Adarkwah reported.
It was initially suggested on social media that the supporter had died but Kotoko officials revealed that he has been referred to Spectra Heath Centre for brain scans to be carried out.
Public Relations Officer for the club, Kennedy Boakye-Ansah, described the shooting as “senseless” and revealed that the club will foot the medical bills of the injured individual.
He is calling for “swift investigations” into the incident. “Whoever actually gave the shot we think mist be reprimanded,” he stated, adding “it is senseless”.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Kotoko supporters union, Nana Kwame Danquah, has called for speedy probe into the incident.
“They [police] need to investigate and come out for people to have confidence in them. We believe that they are there to protect lives and properties and not to kill us. We are Ghanaian nationals and we expect them to protect all of us. We know they were trying to protect the referees. They [referees] are humans as we are also human beings and they [police] cannot protect them in a special way and decide to treat some of us the way they treated us”.
May 9 disaster
It would be recalled that similar chaos on May 9, 2001, resulted in the deaths of 126 individuals during a football match between Kotoko and Hearts of Oak at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Hearts scored two late goals winning the match by a final score of 2-1. Disheartened Kotoko supporters threw plastic seats and bottles onto the field. Police fired teargas and rubber bullets into the crowd and a stampede resulted in the deaths.