Head Coach of Legon Cities Bashir Hayford has expressed worry over the upsurge of intimidation of referees in the Ghana Premier League.

Hayford has accused fans of Berekum Chelsea of influencing decisions of referees following his team’s 2 – 1 defeat at the Agyeman Badu Park after the referee Selorm Yao Bless disallowed a goal he deemed legitimate.

The former Black Queens Coach disclosed that the referee failed to allow the goal because he was threatened by the home fans.

According to him the practice is gradually becoming pervasive in the league and must be curbed.

“My Worry is that the officials were threatened and insulted and told that they will end up like those from the Wamanafo Mighty Royals game. The referees were afraid.

“At the tunnel one of them told the referee that he will be beaten badly if they should you lose. The referee also didn’t want to be beaten and they were scared.

“Everybody saw what happened. You prepare your team and the referee robs you. It becomes hard to even measure the progress of your team,” he complained bitterly in an interview.

Legon Cities are 15th on the GPL standings with 19 points.