Mali soccer fans go on rampage
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) -- Angry fans invaded the field and forced the suspension of an African World Cup qualifying match between Togo and host Mali, then went on a riot and looting spree in Bamako.
Togo led 2-1 when the game was stopped in second-half injury time.
The home fans at the packed 70,000-seat March 26 Stadium became upset when Kader Koubadia scored what appeared to be a goal in injury time.
Police fired tear gas at dozens of angry fans who ran onto the field after the goal, and state television immediately cut its live transmission. Dozens of people passed out after inhaling the gas.
Fans joined residents to continue rioting in the city, with thousands descending on the capital's main African Unity Avenue and screaming for the heads of Mali's top soccer players.
"Give us Frederic Kanoute and Mamadou Bakayoko!" they demanded. "We're going to kill them!"
Kanoute plays for England's Tottenham and Bakayoko for the French team Nantes.
Presidential spokesman Seydou Sissouma said all the soccer players were "secured" under guard, though he would not say where.
The visiting and home teams usually stay at specially built Kabala Village, 45 kilometers (27 miles) south of Bamako.
"I understand the people's disappointment, but nothing justifies such acts," said Sissouma, who also had not heard of any injuries.
Protesters blocked a main road with flaming tires, cutting off western Bamako, the so-called Left Bank, from the eastern half of the city.
They smashed car windows, and forced shops to hastily put down metal shutters. Those without that protection shut off their lights.
One crowd used bats to smash the shop window of Bamako's biggest bakery, the Patisserie Almandine, and looted it. One man was eating a cream cake as he carted a chair away on his head.
By midnight, dozens of stores were looted. The rioters also targeted several Togolese restaurants, which they smashed up, ignoring Ivorian and Cameroonian restaurants nearby.
Police again used tear gas to keep at bay a crowd that tried to ransack the Malian Football Federation offices.
Other groups confronted passers-by, stealing cellular telephones, money, and one journalist's cameras.
"We haven't seen anything like this since the March 26 revolution," said one woman, referring to the 1991 riots that ended decades of military dictatorship.
Cellular telephone service failed for a few hours, then was restored.
Protesters yelled insults at police officers, but they just fired more tear gas.
Earlier in the match, Soumaila Coulibaly gave Mali the lead in the 12th minute, but Salifou Mustapha equalized for Togo in the 35th.
Mali, which is in last place in Group 1, will be mathematically eliminated from reaching the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany if the African soccer federation awards the win to Togo.
The team has just two points, 11 less than leaders Senegal and Zambia, with just four matches to go.
Even if Mali wins all four of its remaining matches, it won't be able to overtake both Senegal and Zambia because the leaders are scheduled to play each other on September 2.
Mali reached the semifinals at last year's African Cup of Nations and advanced to the final two years earlier at home, but the team has never played at soccer's showcase event.
Togo, which has 10 points from five matches, could join Senegal and Zambia on 13 points if it is given the win.
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