Equatorial Guinea Fined $100000 For Afcon Battles

African football chiefs on Friday hit Equatorial Guinea with a $100 000 fine for unrest in a Africa Cup of Nations semifinal in which 36 fans were injured.
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But the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said that despite disturbances blamed on Equatorial Guinea fans in Thursday’s semifinal defeat to Ghana, supporters would be allowed into the country’s third-place play off against Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday.
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CAF meted out the fine to the Nations Cup hosts “for aggressive behaviour and being repeat offenders” for crowd trouble, said a confederation statement.
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An order to play Saturday’s third place playoff behind closed doors was suspended “to promote a spirit of Fair-play and brotherhood during the AFCON2015”.
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But CAF made it clear that if there was more unrest then it would “automatically impose the sanction of playing behind closed doors the Equatorial Guinean team’s next official match”.
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Saturday’s play-off is being held at the same 15 000-seater stadium in Malabo where Equatorial Guinea’s supporters pelted Ghanaian fans with plastic bottles and chairs on Thursday night.
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The game was halted for over half an hour with Ghana eventually winning 3-0 to set up a final on Sunday with Ivory Coast in Bata.
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As the missiles rained down, the 500 visiting Ghana fans poured onto the pitch and play was halted eight minutes from time as security officials battled to regain control.
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The Ghana Football Association (GFA) described the scene as a “war zone.”
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Local supporters became increasingly angry at an inept showing by the home team who struggled against a Ghana side ranked 81 places higher in the world.
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According to CAF, “all the injured were supported and attended to on site.
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“A total of 14 were transferred to hospital units for further investigations with one case requiring close monitoring.”
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Ghana had called on CAF to take tough action against the Nations Cup hosts over the chaos and violence in Malabo.
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“Strong action must be taken by the Confederation of African Football,” GFA president and CAF executive member Kwesi Nyantakyi told reporters.
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“This kind of conduct is unacceptable and we have formally protested against it to the organisers,” said Nyantakyi.
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“It is really sad that these attacks on our supporters almost eclipsed the joy of reaching the final of the competition.
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“They must be condemned in their entirety,” he added.
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After the match, the Ghanaian supporters were kept at the stadium for several hours while further chaos ensued outside the ground.