Riot police shield Ghana's John Boye and teammates from objects thrown by Equatorial Guinea fans at the end of the first half of the 2015 African Cup of Nations semifinal match in Malabo Thursday. — Reuters • Equatorial Guinea fined $100,000 for battles • Morocco kicked out of 2017 and 2019 events
MALABO — Rioting spectators forced a 34-minute stoppage in the African Nations Cup semifinal and several people were injured as Ghana eliminated host Equatorial Guinea with a 3-0 defeat Thursday. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Friday fined Equatorial Guinea $100,000 for the unrest, the CAF said Friday. But CAF said that despite the disturbances blamed on Equatorial Guinea fans in Thursday's semifinal defeat to Ghana, fans would be allowed into the country's third place play off against Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday. Saturday's playoff is being held at the same stadium in Malabo which was likened to “a warzone” Thursday. Morocco, meanwhile, was kicked out of the 2017 and 2019 tournaments and fined $1 million for refusing to host this year's event due to fears over Ebola. The CAF also ordered the Royal Moroccan Football Federation to pay eight million euros in compensation. Tunisia football chief Wadie Jary was also banned from all CAF activities following claims his side was unfairly treated during its controversial defeat against Equatorial Guinea. CAF ordered Jary and the Tunisian federation to apologize or provide evidence to back up its complaints before midnight Thursday. However when no apology was forthcoming, CAF suspended Jary until an apology materialized. The crowd spilling onto the field meant the match was halted eight minutes from time as spectators sought sanctuary behind the goal after home fans attacked Ghana supporters and rained objects down on their bench. Security forces fired tear gas and used a helicopter to clear the crowd, almost emptying the stands before the game was finally concluded with the referee playing two more minutes before calling time. A controversially awarded penalty converted by Jordan Ayew in the 42nd minute, which initially sparked the violence, was followed by goals from Mubarak Wakaso and Andre Ayew to ensure Ghana reached a record ninth final where it will face the Ivory Coast. However, the result was overshadowed after the violence left several people — including a Confederation of African Football (CAF) official, a policeman and several spectators — injured, CAF officials told Reuters. Having stepped in as 11th hour host, Equatorial Guinea was basking in the glow of widespread praise for putting on a tournament with two months' notice. The stadium looked a mess afterwards, strewn with broken plastic chairs, hundred of plastic water bottles and drinks cans that had been hurled from the stands. It followed a similarly tempestuous quarterfinal in Bata at the weekend when Equatorial Guinea upset Tunisia to win an unlikely semifinal place after getting a dubious penalty right at the end of the game. Tunisia was fined $50,000 for its behavior, which included players chasing after Mauritian referee Rajindraparsad Seechurn at the end of their 2-1 defeat. Seechurn was subsequently suspended for six months for his poor officiating.— Agencies
