March 30, (THEWILL) – There were ugly scenes at the Moshood Abiola Stadium venue of the Nigeria versus Ghana reverse fixture as home fans reacted angrily and vehemently after the Super Eagles lost their ticket to the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The post-match period was very quickly overshadowed by violence after the realisation that the country’s world cup aspirations were extinguished with the loss.
Local fans pelted Ghanaian fans and the Black Stars squad with water bottles, forcing the latter to hide and shield their heads as they battled their way down the tunnel following a huge pitch invasion.
The surging fans took out their frustration on everything in sight at the recently refurbished Abuja Stadium, battering the dugouts and advertising boards.
Local security appeared overwhelmed by the speed of the breakdown of law and order as the police attempted to control the crowd using their batons. This continued for about five minutes, and was only momentarily interrupted when tear gas canisters were deployed on the pitch.
By that point, a dugout had been flipped and broken as the unwelcome but all-too-familiar side of football violence reared its ugly head again on the continent against the contemporary ethos of world football.
Ghanaian supporters leaving the stadium expressed shock and dismay at their treatment.
Such breakdown of order will be very poorly received at the Zurich headquarters of world football governing body FIFA and will demand very detailed explanations from both Nigerian security and football authorities.
Sanctions may follow if FIFA considers it necessary to deter recurrence.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
