African soccer hit dizzying heights before descending into violent farce on Saturday with the referee attacked after tiny Equatorial Guinea shocked Tunisia in a controversy-mired Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final.
A stunning opening tie between the two Congos, which produced six goals at Estadio de Bata, set up an evening of much promise, but the on-field drama of the second quarter-final was overshadowed by ugly scenes as the referee was punched and kicked by incensed Tunisian players.
They were livid with perceived referee injustice after Equatorial Guinea, one of the continent’s smallest nations and emergency hosts of the tournament, produced one of the great upsets in the tournament’s history by claiming a 2-1 win after extra-time.
Photo: AFP
They moved into the last four with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), who came from two goals down to beat northern neighbors the Republic of the Congo 4-2 in a sparkling first quarter-final.
Equatorial Guinea’s win was clouded by the manner of their victory and the violent reaction of the Tunisians, who were runaway favorites against a motley collection of mostly lower league players from Spain and looked to be on course when they broke the deadlock on 70 minutes.
However, Ahmed Akaichi’s goal was canceled out in stoppage-time as the home side were handed a soft penalty by Mauritian referee Seechurn Rajindraparsad, which was converted by Javier Balboa.
It came at the end of a niggling match that descended further into an abyss as the rival benches threw bottles of water at each other and traded insults before embarking on a full out brawl just before the end of the game.
By that stage Equatorial Guinea had taken a 2-1 lead after a stunning 102nd minute free-kick from Balboa, a former Real Madrid junior.
Clashes on the sideline were matched by continuing spats on the pitch and when the final whistle sounded the referee was rushed off the field by a police escort, but not before being chased by Tunisian players who kicked and punched him.
Heavy sanctions are likely to follow.
It all contrasted starkly with the superb drama of the opening game where Dieumerci Mbokani scored twice to lead a thrilling come back for DR Congo.
Ferebory Dore opened the scoring in the 55th minute and Thievy Bifouma made it two seven minutes later, but DR Congo roared back, scoring four times in the last 25 minutes.
Mbokani opened and finished the scoring, with Jeremy Bokila and Joel Kimwaki adding the second and third goals to send DR Congo into the last four for the first time since 1998.
They will meet either Ivory Coast or Algeria in Bata in Wednesday’s semi-final.
Equatorial Guinea will next play in Malabo on Thursday against either Ghana or Guinea.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
RSS