Reflections on the show of shame in Malabo

The African Cup of Nations Semi final clash between Equitorial Guinea and Ghana which ended in a convincing 3-0 victory for the Black Stars will not be remembered for the manner in which Ghana took their hosts to the cleaners but by how the game as a spectacle was disrupted (disrupted being an understatement) by disgruntled Equitorial Guinea fans at the Malabo stadium.

Trouble began shortly before half time when angry Equitorial Guinea fans upset at the fact that the game was not going their way, started throwing bottles at the Ghanaian players. Security officials had to shield the Ghanaian players into the tunnel at half time. All pleadings by the Equitorial Guinea players to the fans to calm down apparently fell on deaf ears as the fans went on rampage and attacked Ghana supporters after Ghana scored the third goal.

The Ghana fans in a bid to escape missiles being thrown at them encroached close to the pitch which led to the game being disrupted for about 30 minutes with shameful scenes on display. The game finally resumed for 3 minutes after police had managed to keep things under control. 

The damage though had been done. And the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has been swift to sanction Equitorial Guinea by slamming them with a fine of a 100,000 Dollars and ordering Equitorial Guinea to take care of the Hospital bills of 36 Equitorial Guinean fans who got injured during the riot. 

A good question one needs to ask is, will this sort of madness be allowed to take place in Europe or America in a major competition of a similar stature as the African Cup of Nations? Another question that needs to be asked is, with the experience that the Equitorial Guinea security operatives had in the controversial Quarter final match between the hosts and Tunisia over crowd control, why didn't Equitorial Guinea provide  adequate security operatives to manage any further repeat of what happened in that match where fans invaded the pitch? And why was there little protection for Ghanaian supporters? It is also pertinent to note that the police were slow in their response to curtail the activities of the rioting fans.

It is hard to excuse Equitorial Guinea for this poor organisation despite having just two months notice to prepare. Issues like security are not to be treated with kid gloves. Fortunately, there has been no reported deaths inspite of the mindless violence and wanton property damage. Ghanaian fans out of fear are being flown home in batches. The tournament continues notwithstanding, but apart from the dream final which we hope will be a spectacle, the third place match between Equitorial Guinea and DR Congo may not be very entertaining going by the comments from the Congolese camp. It appears some players may have developed cold feet at the prospect of facing the wrath of angry home supporters.