Ugly Incident At Afcon 2015 As Ghana Thrashed Equatorial Guinea 3-0

 Equatorial Guinea’s Africa Cup of Nations dream came to a disappointing end amid more shameful scenes in Malabo on Thursday night.

The hosts have lit up this tournament, performing footballing miracles, backed by enthusiastic support. But as they exited at the semi-final stage, those same fans showed an uglier side, throwing bottles at Ghana’s players, staff and fans and eventually causing the game to be stopped for more than half an hour.
With eight minutes left and the Ghana fans being pelted with bottles from both sides, the game was stopped for them to be escorted from the stadium, amid fears for their safety.

But with no safe path away from fans determined to cause trouble, referee Eric Castane was left with no choice but to temporarily halt the game. Despite the use of a police helicopter to try and restore order, it took more than half an hour to restart, with the stadium almost empty.
Travelling fans and journalists alike had to deal with a shower of glass and stones during the delay, while outside the ground there was carnage.
Riot police eventually stormed some sections of the stadium, firing tear gas and using their batons on fans as they tried to re-assert some control.
The final few minutes, once play restarted, were played out at the pace of an exhibition, and with the atmosphere of particularly grim funeral.
It was a farcical end to a shameful spectacle that will overshadow an otherwise excellent tournament.
Ghana manager Avram Grant remained calm throughout, keeping his players out on the pitch despite the potentially dangerous situation.
‘It’s the first time I’ve played games in this tournament,’ the former Chelsea and Portsmouth boss said after the game. ‘I didn’t know what was happening, we saw some incidents of violence. I could not say I wasn’t concerned but I wanted to keep the safety of my players – it was very important for me.
Equatorial Guinea captain Emilio Nsue, who plays his club football at Middlesbrough, apologised for the trouble, which the players had consistently tried to calm, but with no effect.
‘I’ve never played in front of anything like that,’ he admitted. ‘I’d like to say sorry on behalf of my team. It was an odd experience – one I’ve never felt before.’