Africa Cup of Nations: Equatorial Guinea football federation fined after crowd trouble
Friday 6 February 2015 16:02, UK
The Equatorial Guinea football federation has been fined £65,500 by the Confederation of African Football following the crowd trouble which overshadowed the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final between Equatorial Guinea and Ghana on Thursday.
The host nation’s governing body has also been ordered to meet the cost of treatment for the Ghana supporters who were injured by flying missiles during the game at the Estadio de Malabo which Ghana won 3-0.
CAF also announced a one match suspended ground closure on Equatorial Guinea which will only be enforced should there be further trouble during Saturday's third-place play-off match between Equatorial Guinea and DR Congo, which also takes place at the Malabo stadium.
Announcing the sanctions on its website, CAF said 36 Ghana supporters were hurt after coming under attack from home supporters, with 14 taken to hospital. It said one of those hospitalised was under close observation.
Thursday's match was suspended for around half an hour when the Black Stars supporters had to leave the stands and take refuge behind one of the goals after being bombarded with objects from rival supporters.
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Bottles could be seen scattered across the running track which surrounded the pitch, while there were reports of tear gas being fired into the stands in a bid to control the Equatorial Guinea fans.
The referee stopped the match and the players were left waiting in the middle of the pitch to find out if the match would restart, with the Equatorial Guinea players pleading with their fans to calm down.
Plenty of fans left the stadium as the suspension dragged on, while a helicopter hovered over the ground.
The match was watched by millions across the world, and world governing body FIFA said the trouble was unacceptable.
A FIFA spokesperson said: "It is important to emphasise that FIFA deplores any form of violence. There is no doubt that safety and security are top priorities for FIFA and have to be a priority in any football match."
