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KENYAN FOOTBALL FANS ON FUN MATCH

The ugly face of football hooliganism reared its head yet again last night as irate Gor Mahia fans went on rampage, occasioning the abandonment of their Kenyan Premier League (KPL) Top 8 match. The enraged supporters were simmering when referee Sylvester Musonye's decided to chalk off what would have been Gor's equaliser after the assistant flagged Moses Odhiambo's effort for offside. Substitute Ivan Anguyo was adjudged to be impeding on Ulinzi custodian Jackton Odhiambo in an offside position before Odhiambo sent the free-kick to the net. Minutes later, Musonye failed to spot a blatant handball in the Ulinzi box and awarded a corner instead and this was the catalyst of the uproar that set off the fans forcing the game to be called off with 23 minutes left. At that point, the KPL league runner-ups were trailing 1-0 to Ulinzi Stars when veteran Mike Baraza scored on the rebound in the first half in the return leg of the first Top 8 semi final at Nyayo National Stadium. The teams had drawn a blank in the first leg a fortnight ago in the knock-out competition where the winner will pocket Sh1m. The fuming fans went on a violent orgy, hurling missiles and holding both sets of players, security officers as well as hapless journalists hostage at the centre of the pitch. The rampage spilled outside the stadium with Ulinzi's team bus pelted with stones leaving no window intact as the irate mob made away with the personal effects left at the vehicle. It is said they attempted with fail to torch the bus. Several other cars were also vandalised and within time, Nairobi's Aerodrome Road, Uhuru Highway and Langata Road turned into a battle zone. Motorists and fans not involved in the fracas were forced to speed off from the scene in haste to seek refuge in nearby estates. A crew member of official broadcaster, SuperSport was also injured in the melee and taken to hospital while a number of those within the precincts of the stadium were struck by the flying missiles. Police resorted to firing into the air to quell the rioting supporters who were set off by Musonye's failure to spot a blatant handball in the Ulinzi box minutes after the disallowed goal.