Sports News of Saturday, 2 December 2017

Source: ghanasoccernet.com

Hans Dieter Schmidt excited clubs will lose points for preventing TV coverage

Former Kumasi Asante Kotoko manager Hans Dieter Schmidt is brimming with excitement over the Ghana FA’s proposal to deny clubs of points for denying television coverage of their matches insisting it is a step in the right direction.

The ex-Asante Kotoko and King Faisal trainer had called on the Ghana Football Association to resort to points deduction as the only means of controlling clubs that resist live telecast of their matches arguing that it is the only language the clubs understand.

The German trainer who has been following Ghana football with keen enthusiasm says clubs will always continue to resist attempts to have their matches on television if the federation only resorts to charging them with fines.

His call came after fans of Bechem United prevented broadcast sponsors of the Ghana Premier League, StarTimes, from telecasting their game with Great Olympics live on television.

The vociferous fans of the Bechem-based side vehemently stopped StarTimes and their partners GBC from broadcasting the game, blocking the entrance to the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park with a heavy truck.

Some of the fans who showed no fear in whatever punishment the FA will hand them angrily chanted their readiness to pay any fine the federation splashes on them.

But Schmidt in a short response on Facebook wrote: 'Let them lose the points.'

To him until clubs suffer points deduction which can affect their stand on the table, they will always employ obsolete methods of drawing the game back.

Aduana Stars were fined GHC20,500 for committing the same offence but the punishment was not enough to deter Bechem United from committing the same the same offence.

Following the proposal of the FA that clubs will forfeit their matches if they prevent live telecast of their matches, the German trainer wrote in a comment on Facebook: “Good decision. From now, they will change.”

The proposal will, however, linger on the approval of Congress to be implemented.