WBO Africa Super welterweight champion, Patrick Allotey has ‘unreservedly apologized’ to the Kotoko fan he assaulted during last Sunday’s match between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
A video of the boxer who in 2019 suffered a humiliating round 4 defeat to America’s Jaime Munguia battering a Kotoko fan has been in circulation on various social media platforms since Sunday, drawing condemnations from some Ghanaians.
Some have also called on the Ghana Boxing Authority to revoke his boxing license. But in a release copied to ghanaweb.com, Patrick Allotey confirmed being the person in the video and expressed regret over his actions.
He said that he was ‘ashamed’ of his actions and has reached out to the victim who has been identified as Michael Siaw.
“Much as I can confirm that I am the one in the video, I wish to state that I am very ashamed of my actions as a professional boxer and truly regret my actions. I therefore take this opportunity to render an unqualified apology to Michael Siaw. I am mostly the reserved type who will hardly talk in public but this time around I don’t know what emotions came upon me. I am truly sorry”.
“Myself, my team and some family members have further taken steps to reach out to ‘my brother’ Michael Siaw and his family and are deliberating on how to remedy the situation. It is rather unfortunate that a simple game of football can ignite such a passion in me to do what I did, but that is to say I am human and I admit so without feeling right about what I did. I wish to plead for everyone’s forgiveness and to reach out to my fans to join me in apologizing to all Ghanaians the rest of the world”.
Allotey also indicated he has learnt his lessons and appealed to Ghanaians for forgiveness.
He also called for unity among fans of Hearts and Kotoko and preached against violence at match venues.
“I have learned a very important lesson and will thus appeal to all Kotoko and Hearts supporters to be each other’s keeper. Let us see every game played between these two teams as a match where any of the teams can emerge victorious. The truth is, the loosing team will definitely have a chance for a comeback anytime they meet next and that surely is the beauty of the game of football, boxing and sports in general”.
