Director of Sport suspends Futsal matches at the National Gymnasium
Following the abrupt end to the Petra Organization/Corona Futsal finale on April 14th between Sparta Boss and Bent Street owing to gunshots being discharged inside the National Gymnasium, Director of Sports Christopher Jones, has revealed that all Futsal tournaments have been suspended until further notice.
Jones during an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport, disclosed, “As a direct result of the incident that occurred, all Futsal tournaments at the National Gymnasium are suspended until further notice. This decision will be confirmed by the board at the next board meeting.”
Locked 2-0 in favour of Sparta Boss at halftime following goals from Jermin Junor and Gregory Richardson, disorder erupted inside the arena, which was packed to capacity, as several gunshots were discharged by unknown individuals.
The resulting gunfire, which emanated from the western side of the facility, triggered a stampede that injured several fans as individuals scrambled to safety.
Tournament coordinator Troy Mendonca of the Petra Organization, in a press release stated that the matchup was forced to stop at halftime due to a disturbance between a “male and his female counterpart.”
Although the aforesaid confrontation was corroborated by witnesses, several observers who spoke on the condition of anonymity, alleged that incident also escalated because of a sizable wager that went sour between individuals affiliated to the finalists. According to Jones, a meeting with several stakeholders inclusive of the coordinators of Futsal Tournaments, the Guyana Police Force and the NSC, will be staged shortly to discuss the current problems and identify possible solutions.
He declared, “Part of the stipulations will be to have more police presence at the venue. They will also need to have police with scanners for men and women. The incident reflects badly. We know that police was present but I don’t know if they had the required number. That will be stipulated going forward in the contract between the coordinators and the NSC.”
“You will have to provide a contract stating how much police officers will be there. This document must come from the police force and only then will the NSC grant approval. Once we get these systems in place, essentially the problems can be resolved in two or three weeks”, Jones added.