KPL mulls over the latest incident of Hooliganism
The Kenyan Premier League management is on the spot again in the wake of chaotic scenes witnessed during a highly billed match between champions Gor Mahia and Tusker FC on Saturday evening.
The match was halted for 10 minutes due to crowd trouble as unruly fans protested the referee’s decision to award Tusker a penalty in the 70th minute. The chaos forced the brief stoppage as the fans threw missiles on the pitch.
But the match later resumed and Tusker went on to win 1-0. Thereafter the mayhem continued with some of the fans accessing the pitch and assaulting the match officials.
This forced police deployed at the venue to lob teargas canisters to disperse the crowd. Amidst the commotion, a stampede ensued resulting in scores of fans being injured.
HIGH RISK CROWDS
“We always try and manage the crowd during matches. KPL has in the past fined teams, organized seminars to sensitize club officials and even formed a joint committee on security to manage high risk crowds. The scenes we saw on Saturday must be condemned,” KPL CEO Jack Oguda told Nairobi News.
This is the second high stakes football match to be marred by crowd trouble this season. Earlier this month, an African Cup of Nations match between Harambee Stars and Guinea Bissau at the Nyayo National Stadium was also punctuated by several stoppages as unruly fans protested the match officials’ decision.
Kenya lost the match 1-0 to see their chances of qualifying for the continental football showpiece go up in smoke.
Hooliganism is fast proving to be the biggest challenge facing the growth of Kenyan football, with a set of limited unruly fans keeping away ardent fans and the corporate world away from the game.
