Guinea’s victory over Gambia in a 1-0 match on Friday triggered widespread celebrations throughout the West African nation. Unfortunately, these celebrations turned tragic as six fans lost their lives.
According to the Guinean Football Federation (Feguifoot), the incidents occurred when supporters gathered in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, to rejoice by driving in cars and on motorbikes.
As the streets filled with jubilant fans, a police source revealed to Agence France Presse (via BBC) that some fans were even seen riding on car bonnets.
Regrettably, this reckless behaviour resulted in a high-speed collision between two vehicles, claiming three lives and causing several dozen injuries in other traffic accidents. In response to this distressing news, Feguifoot and former Guinea star Pascal Feindouno have appealed for calm in the country.
“What is important is that our fans and the public celebrate in a very measured fashion,” Feguifoot media manager Amadou Makadji told BBC Sport Africa. “They have to be very careful not to put themselves in danger because the goal of football is to bring joy and not leave families bereaved.
We do not want deaths to be mourned, so we call on everyone to celebrate but to take care of themselves so that nothing happens to them. Guinea is a country where people are very, very passionate about football and they experience football like nowhere else in the world.” Feinduono told BBC while in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast: “I have a message to send to Guinean men and women.
Rest assured that we will do something at the Nations Cup but we have learned something that will destabilise us. We learned there were deaths after the victory against The Gambia – we want this to stop because we are here to defend the colours of the country. Everything is going well for us at the moment so support the country but don’t do anything to kill each other or oneself. Stay calm – thank you.”
Guinea and Senegal will clash in a thrilling West African derby on Tuesday, January 23. This highly anticipated match will determine the group leader and the team that will advance to the knockout stages, with both sides vying for the opportunity to remain in Yamoussoukro.
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