Cairo - Thirty people were hurt and 150 arrested during rioting after Egyptian team Ismailia failed to win the African Champions League final against Enyimba of Nigeria, police said on Saturday.

Ismailia fans went on the rampage before and after the whistle at the end of a bad-tempered and one-sided match in the north-eastern Egyptian city which saw their team win the game 1-0 but lose on aggregate 2-1.

Furious Egyptian supporters in the capacity 20 000 crowd broke seats, and hurled stones and bottles onto the pitch in the closing minutes, leading to police forming a ring around the perimeter to protect the players and match officials.

On leaving the stadium fans smashed the windows of cars and a bus, broke traffic lights and set fire to trees, police said.

Cynical tackles and a host of off-the-ball incidents

Police who tried to disperse them were stoned and responded with tear gas.

The injured included five police officers.

Enyimba became the first Nigerian winners of the African Champions League.

Ismailia, who trailed 2-0 from the first leg in Aba two weeks ago, claimed the only goal after 27 minutes when teenager Hosni Abd Rabbou converted a disputed penalty.

The local club dominated the match with goalkeeper Mohamed Sobhi not required to make a single save.

Dramane Traore from Mali and Mohamed Abougreisha, who are both deadly strikers, could not break through the Enyimba defence this time.

But as Nigeria celebrated winning the premier African club competition for the first time, African football was the big loser after a

final that referee Eddy Maillet of Seychelles had to halt several times.

Cynical tackles and a host of off-the-ball incidents that left players from both teams lying on the ground littered a final that included five minutes of stoppage time in the first half and 11 in the second.

Furious Egyptian supporters hurled bottles onto the pitch in the closing minutes of the game.

Among those watching what should have been the showcase of African football was Issa Hayatou from Cameroon, who is seeking re-election as president of the African Football Confederation next month.

The penalty, harshly awarded for a foul on Abougreisha by Ugah Okpara, triggered a lengthy delay as Nigerian players surrounded Maillet, who showed remarkable calm in the face of severe provocation.

When Enyimba finally accepted the inevitability of the spot kick, national youth team midfielder Rabbou sent Nigeria's World Cup goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama the wrong way to leave the match delicately balanced.

But second half dominance of territory and possession by the Egyptian club led to nothing.

The dogged Nigerians retreated behind the ball and Ismailia appeared to lose faith in their ability to score again long before the end the match. - Sapa-AFP