The Disciplinary Panel of the Confederations of African Football has handed out a 100,000 dollar fine on Equatorial Guinea for the unruly behaviour of its fans during the semi-final game against Ghana on Thursday.
Fans of the host nation threw rocks, bottles, and other missiles at Ghanaian supporters, players, and officials, causing the semi-final to be stopped for over 30 minutes in the second half with Ghana leading 3-0 and the home team on its way out.
Some Ghana fans suffered minor injuries in the stadium from being hit by objects, while there were reports that local fans attacked the Ghanaians again when they were leaving the stadium.
Riot police fired tear gas at the angry home crowd, and evacuated Ghana’s fans to protect them as a helicopter hovered low over the stands at Malabo Stadium, trying to restore order.
As part of the sanctions, the government of Equatorial Guinea has also been ordered by CAF to cover the cost of treatment of all injured persons during the match.
Below is the full statement by CAF
The Disciplinary Panel of CAF meeting on 6 February, 2015 in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, reviewed the reports of match officials following the incidents that marred the Match No. 30 of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations between Ghana and Equatorial Guinea. The match under review, counting for the semi-finals of the competition, was played in Malabo Thursday, 5 February, 2015.
Pursuant to Articles 82, 83 and 151 of the Disciplinary Code of CAF, respectively related to the principles of conduct, responsibility and safety in the organization of games, the disciplinary panel decided:
• To have the Equatorial Guinean Party cover the cost of treatment of all injured persons during the match.
• To impose on the Equatorial Guinean Federation a fine of US$100,000 (One Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) for aggressive behaviour and being repeat offenders.
• To have the team of Equatorial Guinea play their next game behind closed doors/in camera and without spectators.
• However, to promote a spirit of Fair-play and brotherhood during the AFCON2015, the Disciplinary Panel decided to suspend the match behind closed doors provided that spectators were not guilty of such an offense in the 3rd/4th place classification match.
In the event of a repeat of identical incidents during the classification match on 7 February 2015, the disciplinary panel of CAF will automatically impose the sanction of playing behind closed doors the Equatorial Guinean team’s next official match.
These decisions were reached against an order made to the Equatorial Guinea Federation on 26 January, 2015 after the match Gabon vs Equatorial Guinea, and a fine of US$ 5,000 imposed on 3 February on the same federation after the match Tunisia vs Guinea Equatorial for the behaviour of fans of the host country of the Orange AFCON2015.
In the Match No 30 in Malabo, at least 36 people injured were identified by the medical teams present at the stadium following the incidents that marred the game. All the injured were supported and attended to on site. A total of 14 were transferred to hospital units for further investigations with one case requiring close monitoring.
