The world football governing body FIFA has handed down a financial penalty to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) following fan misconduct during a recent World Cup qualifying match between Ghana and Madagascar at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Friday, November 17, 2023.
FIFA’s disciplinary committee fined Ghana 5,000 Swiss francs (around $5,400) for spectator violations during the Black Star’s 1-0 win over Madagascar.
According to FIFA, there was an intruder into the pitch of play as unapproved and unaccredited number of people entered the inner perimeter, some of whom joined the players to celebrate Inaki Williams’s winning goal in the closing stages of the game.
The World Football governing body, however, commended the security service for being proactive in dealing with the matter. They also called on the stadium management to improve the internet facility.
This is not the first time Ghana has faced sanctions over poor fan behavior. They received fines from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) fined Ghana an amount of Ten Thousand US Dollars (US$10,000) for the invasion of the field of play by a soccer fan in November 2019.
The incident occurred at the latter stages of the Black Stars’ win over South Africa in a 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Cape Coast Stadium.
