An investigation is under way after a riot at an African Champions League tie described as “apocalyptic” by one of the teams involved.
One fan was seen carrying a chainsaw in the stands while others lit fires during the quarter-final second leg between home side Esperance of Tunisia and JS Kabylie of Algeria.
The violence led to a 40-minute delay to the second half, with Kabylie revealing they asked for the game at the Rades Stadium to be abandoned before being told to return to the pitch by officials.
The game eventually ended in a 1-1 draw, giving Esperance a 2-1 aggregate victory.
The four-time African champions could now be forced to play future games in the competition behind closed doors if tournament organisers the Confederation of African Football (Caf) follow precedent, having imposed a similar sanction on the club following violence in a match against Tunisian rivals Etoile Sportive Sahel last season.
After trouble also flared at one of the weekend’s other quarter-finals, the tie between Raja Casablanca and Al Ahly, Caf released its own statement condemning both incidents as “unacceptable”.
What happened and why a chainsaw?
Having been sanctioned last season, Esperance officials and fan representatives have been working together to ensure order at home games and the first half against Kabylie had passed off without incident.
When trouble did flare, those involved appear to have targeted a storeroom under the stand where maintenance equipment, including the chainsaw, was being kept.
Footage circulating on social media shows a man with a black scarf around the lower part of his face carrying the chainsaw among the wreckage of broken fencing while other men start a fire.
Esperance fan Walid, who has attended all of the club’s home games in the Champions league this season, told the BBC the violence was “very unusual” and could not say what started it.
He went on to describe what happened as “chaotic” and like being in “a warzone”, as spectators fought with riot police and firefighters were called in.
Visiting the scene in the aftermath, Tunisia’s interior minister, Kamal El-Feki, announced the investigation, promising to punish those involved.
Esperance supporters who were not involved, and who are angry about what happened, are also trying to track down offenders, sharing images online, including one of a man holding the chainsaw later in the game.
Speaking to local radio station Diwan FM, a court spokesman said more than 60 arrests had been made, including 12 minors.
