Thursday night saw the FKL Cup semi final action between Leopards and Gor. Ingwe Fan hasn't given much thought to this terribly organized cup competition but what caught my eye was the shocking scenes that saw the match abandoned with many minutes left to play after fans threw stones to the pitch.
Here are pictorials. The credit to these pictures taken from Social Media is on individual persons who took the photos and some from Kweli.
Pre match, the Leopards fans and Gor fans posing together.
The fans enter the stadium
Inside fans continue taking pictures together
Notice the Leopards fan with a Gor flag and the Gor fan with a blue Leopards vuvuzela.
Other fans danced...
Some spoke on the phone
Though there is usually the clear divide between the blue - white side and the green side
Rival fans sit close by to each other
The Leopards fans have a banner with the photos of the three fans who passed away the previous weekend
Gor fans enjoying some fish
... and belting out the team's anthem
The space between the terraces and the perimeter fence is used a s dancing arena with fans dancing from one end of the pitch to the other. Gor fans did it...
and Leopards fans did it
And at times they met
The moment of silence in memory of the three departed Leopards fans
was not observed by some Gor fans who were dancing leading to some irritation by Leopards fans
Gor fans also later chanted a funeral dirge as they carried a mattress symbolizing a coffin
But there were efforts by the two sections of the fans to mingle
Some Leopards fans carried sugar cane into the stadium and the police looked on bemused. The canes would later be used by some fans as weapons! Sugar cane is used by leopards fans to symbolize the association with sponsors Mumias Sugar.
Gor fans also danced dangerously close to the edge of the terraces
Leopards fans brought live chicken to the ground
And there were several bottles of soda, juice and alcohol in the stadium. The scores changed.
Gor scored a goal and their fans ran around the pitch with flares to the Leopards fans side.
Stones were thrown at the said fans and some were injured
The match resumed but there was then a nasty injury to Leopards top scorer Mike Baraza which led to an ambulance getting onto the pitch
He left the field unconscious
Some fans took advantage of the long stoppage to engage in stone throwing. Most fans started leaving the stadium.
Yes, this was the same section previously...
Fans left the stadium in droves even as the police needlessly threw teargas at remaining fans some of whom had been largely peaceful.
Some of the youths were reported to be chanting anti-Raila slogans. Chants of RUTO! RUTO! were heard from a section of the youths. A clear contrast to a fan who was holding an ODM poster before.
Hooligans take advantage of the situation and some rob cars along the way. Some leopards and Gor fans head to Samba, a pub in the CBD and enjoy a drink together.
A bad day for football in Kenya but caused by pockets of fans who took advantage of lapse in security, the carefree mentality of authorities at the Stadium, the long stoppages in the match and other factors that lead to the abandonment of the third clash between the teams this year. Citizen TV carried the story here.
Gor plays Sofapaka in the final on Wednesday.
Hooliganism has simply refused to die away! reason why I still shy away from these games.
ReplyDeletei do agree with you to some extend but there are a few sins that maybe past u, there were some Gor fans who tried to tare the banner with the pictures of those who died the previous weekend which started the throwing of stones. i guess that was the turning point of everything, to me gor fans mocked Afc fans so that the game could be abandoned because they were leading by one goal (they knwe Afc could have equalized) so it was i kind of start the fighting and the game will be abandoned and the win given to them.
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