streetfights in stadiums: the FMF completely offside

Confusion is complete between football fans and sport lovers in general. Such level of violence has for long been absent from stadiums, even during the boiling rugby confrontations. The young players of Tana Formation have actually been lynched by their valiant adversaries of the ACE Comato club from Tulear on the Rabemananjara pitch in Mahajanga. As a result, no less than eight reported wounded victims, four of them in a serious estate, all from the soccer club school’s ranks. AS Comato also had a wounded player. This latest one was furiously pursuing the opposite keeper when the latter finally, and quite surprisingly, stood out to the challenge.  

The semi final of Madagascar’s cup has, therefore, been interrupted 2 minutes to the final whistle. The few police officers present in the stadium could not contain the blood-red jersey’s wrath, seen that supporters invaded the pitch to take part into the manhunt directed against the young players from Antananarivo. The background of such an escalade has been told by the scoreboard. 

After leading 2 goals to nil, AS Comato let Tana Formation level at 2-2 before leaving the advantage. The match was tense. A first violent shock between two players in a challenge produced a swarm. The central referee whistled a free kick for Tana Formation. The kick is played quickly, the Paul Scholes way. The legitimate move paid off and led to the scoring. 

As trailing 2 goals to 3, the players of Comato were more than ever nervous. When a player of Tana Formation collapsed after a challenge, some opponents tried to take him out of from the pitch; they actually recklessly dragged him out, a move which was obviously neither to the liking of the victim’s team mates not to that of the club’s physician. This was the turning point. A usual pitch dispute ended in a beating in the state of art for Antananarivo’s players. AS Comato’s players and their fans showed evidence of unprecedented violence. 

The Rabemananjara stadium has the single synthetic pitch of Madagascar. It is not yet finished since work is still on going in the tiers, and protective grids are still missing around the pitch. Some voices have called upon sanctions against the public and upon suspension of the stadium until it is fully secured. 

But here is the rub; sanctions are directed against Tana Formation: it has to replay the match in a short term, though half of its bench has been sent in hospital by the opponent’s aggressions. No one expected AS Comato to be withdrawn from the competition by 3goal to nil; however, the score of 3 goals to 2 by the 88th minute ought to have been considered in accordance with sport’s logic. 

The beating has been broadcasted by a TV channel. The FMF is going as far as indicting the concerned channel station of producing tendentious reports by broadcasting AS Comato players hitting and tracking their opponents up to restrooms. To make matters worse, a police officer and a district attorney were part of that day’s officials on the pitch. The leaders of Tana Formation announced that they will address the case…in court.