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Alert

Sports club guards prevent "Ghanaian Times" journalist from covering game, threaten permanent barring of colleagues

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 14 April 2007, Ian Motey, a correspondent of "The Ghanaian Times", a state-owned daily newspaper, was prevented by security guards of Asante Kotoko Football Club, a Kumasi-based team, from covering their league match, for alleged biased reporting.

The guards also threatened to bar all journalists of "The Ghanaian Times" from ever covering their games.

According to Motey, the guards, dressed in the team's colours and manning Gate One of the Sunyani Coronation Stadium, told him he was not welcome at the stadium as the management of the team had instructed that journalists of the "Ghanaian Times" be prevented from covering their games.

The journalist told MFWA's correspondent that about five guards asked him to leave and told him that even if he purchased a ticket, they could not guarantee his safety.

Motey attributes his predicament to a story he wrote which was published in the 23 March edition of the newspaper, reporting of an earlier harassment of journalists by the guards on 22 March.