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Ghana call for stiff action after fans injured
Referee Eric Arnaud Otogo-Castane (3rd R) of Gabon stands next to Ghana players after Equatorial Guinea fans threw objects during their African Nations Cup semi-final soccer match in Malabo, February 5, 2015. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
By Mark Gleeson
06/02/2015
MALABO (Reuters) - Ghana have called for stiff action against Nations Cup hosts Equatorial Guinea after several Ghanaian supporters were injured in attacks by home fans during Thursday's semi-final between the two countries.
"It's a pity that this dark cloud overshadows our success and we really need to see some stiff action taken by the Confederation of African Football (CAF)," said Kwesi Nyantakyi, president of the Ghana Football Association who is also a senior CAF executive.
At least five Ghanaian fans were slightly injured by stones, bottles and other objects thrown at them by home fans during the 3-0 loss for Equatorial Guinea in the semi-final.
There were also other injuries among officials, police and home supporters.
"This kind of behaviour is just unacceptable," Nyantakyi told Reuters.
Some 500 Ghanaians flew from Accra on chartered planes to watch their team and were collared into a section on the side of the stadium, away from the rest of the 15,000-capacity crowd at the Nuevo Estadio de Malabo.
When their team went 3-0 up, the celebrating Ghanaians were pelted with a rain of missiles.
Ghanaian fans forced open a gate at the bottom of their section and spilt down onto the playing area, amassing behind one of the goals. This caused the match to be halted for over 30 minutes.
The Ghanaians were then held back at the stadium for several hours while home supporters went on the rampage outside the stadium, breaking street poles and upturning vendors' goods and placing concrete bolders on the road. The Ghanaians were eventually bused back to Malabo airport.
CAF will meet on Friday to discuss the incident which follows swiftly after violent scenes at the weekend saw players of Tunisia try to attack a referee after they were eliminated in the quarter-final.
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