Police in Senegal take cover from rocks being hurled from the stands (Reuters)
Unfortunately, this type of violence still scars our beautiful game. An African Cup of Nations Qualifier between Senegal and the Ivory Coast had to be abandoned earlier Saturday after police in Dakar, Senegal, were forced to fire tear gas into the stands as Senegal fans lit fires and threw rocks and other objects onto the pitch, ostensibly in protest over their side's poor performance.
The chaos erupted after Didier Drogba scored a penalty kick in the 70th minute. That made the match 0-2 in favor of the Ivory Coast, and put the score to 2-6 to Ivorians over the two legs. A pitch invader had gone after Drogba a few minutes earlier, but he was stopped before he could reach the former Chelsea man. After the PK, the fans began to light the stands on fire and hurl projectiles onto the pitch. According to the local press, at least one match official was struck with an object as the officials and players took refuge in the center circle.
Ivory Coast supporters were driven onto the pitch where they joined the players. The police were then able to escort the group out of the stadium. The match was officially abandoned after it had been stopped for about 40 minutes. It is expected the the African Confederation will order the result to stand and the Ivory Coast will qualify for the tournament proper.
Several big name players were involved besides Drogba. Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse joined West Ham's Mohamed Diame in the lineup for Senegal, while the Ivory Coast featured Drogba, Newcastle MF Cheick Tiote, Arsenal man Gervinho, and brothers Yaya and Kolo Toure of Manchester City.
It is thought that no players were injured. Manchester City confirmed that Yaya and Kolo Toure were involved in the match, but suggests they were unharmed.
Hopefully anyone who was injured will recover quickly. Even more important, hopefully there will come a day when this kind of thing really is finally stamped out.
Ivory Coast fans form a ring around fans and players at midfield. (Reuters)
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