Senegal-Ivory Coast Soccer Match Turns Violent

At the African Cup of Nations qualifier match between Senegal and Ivory Coast yesterday, the stands erupted into violence, ending the match 15 minutes early for the safety of the players. The game was in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, and the craziness started when Ivorian player Didier Drogba scored his second goal of the match, leaving Senegal losing 0-2. The fans went crazy, throwing rocks onto the field and starting fires in the stands to burn Ivorian flags.

Check out this awesome picture of the riots, courtesy of Reuters:

The Ivorian players were escorted out under heavy guard:

They were later credited with the win and will continue on in the tournament, with Senegal out.

Random Kate Thoughts: While I, like many Americans, have never cared terribly much about soccer living in Africa has given me a pretty good idea of how much Africans care about the sport. When it's the European matches, I get it less, because who really cares when two random teams in the UK play each other (ManU versus Arsenal... I don't get it), but Africans, or at least the ones at my school and those I've met in my travels, tend to care VERY much about such matches. Sometimes I wonder if sports really are just a distraction from the bigger problems countries faces. Soccer can turn friends into enemies and enemies into (temporary) friends. It can generate patriotism within seconds. Yesterday's match had ten people injured. My students have gotten into fist fights over such matches. Regardless of my personal feelings towards the sport, I think many people would agree that we as a species need to learn to be better losers. Sound good, Senegal?