By Victor Kanayo
Police in Benin Republic have arrested and detained eight players from Jeunesse Sportive de Ouidah (JSO) for protesting over their unpaid wages.
The JSO players were arrested when they went to the headquarters of Les Bagnoles, their club’s partner company to protest.
Report revealed that the players remained at the company gate from 10 am to 10 pm before the worst happened to them.
Talking about why they turned out to protest, JSO goalkeeper Gilchrist Vanou said, “They owe us 4 months’ wages and 4 unpaid match bonuses. We had come to the Bagnoles company to claim our rights.
“The championship ended on 20 May 2023. They owe us 4 months’ wages and 4 unpaid match bonuses. We’re housed in Ouidah in an uninhabitable place.
“There’s no water or electricity, and we’re having trouble sleeping because there’s no food. We tried to meet the club authorities, but they didn’t reply.
“So we decided to come and meet them. The manager had asked us for 72 hours to deal with the situation. After 72 hours, we came back because nothing had improved.
“We were waiting for the headmistress to come out when they called the police. We were picked up and spent the night at the police station.”