Senegal Disqualified From African Cup of Nations.

Senegalese police evacuate the Ivory Coast national team as debris rains on the pitch.

This weekend I covered the fan riots that forced the abandonment of the Senegal vs. Ivory Coast African Cup of Nations qualifier last Saturday.  With the Ivorians leading 0-2 late in the second half (and 2-6 on aggregate) Senegalese fans erupted to into violence, invading the pitch, lighting fires in the stands, and tossing projectiles at match officials and players.

Today the Confederation of African Football (CAF) formally disqualified Senegal from the tournament, awarding the Ivory Coast the 0-2 match result that confirms their trip into the tournament finals next year.

CAF said in a statement: "CAF decided to officially confirm the result of the match as 2-0 in favour of Ivory Coast … and to consider Senegal the loser of the said match and eliminated from the competition without prejudice to any other sanctions that may be imposed by CAF disciplinary board."

While Senegal will undoubtedly be unhappy about missing the final, there is an odd silver lining for Newcastle United, as strikers Demba Ba and Papis Cisse will not have to travel home to compete in the tournament come January.

No word yet as to if CAF will impose further sanctions on Senegal in the future.

Senegal vs Ivory Coast Abandoned Due to Fan Violence

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)

Puddle's Goal of the Midweek: Gervinho Sends Ivory Coast Through

For my goal of the midweek I take you to the Africa Cup of Nations, which I really wish I could watch. Gervinho made this great individual run and finish to give the Ivory Coast a 1-0 win over Mali.

Yaya Toure Wins 2011 African Player of the Year Award

I'd like to extend congratulations to Manchester City's Yaya Toure, who yesterday was named African Player of the year for 2011. The award is handed out by C.A.F., the Confederation of African Football, and was announced in Accra, Ghana.

Toure is an Ivory Coast international as well as a vital part of City's squad. He scored in the last FA Cup final, helping City claim the trophy over Stoke City.

Congratulations Yaya Toure!