Riot halts match in Mali
A qualifier was stopped yesterday in Bamako, Mali, when fans rioted following a go-ahead goal by Togo in the 90th minute.
Fans blocked a main road with flaming tires and smashed car windows after they invaded the field. Police fired tear gas as protesters descended on the capital's main African Unity Avenue and screamed about the play of Mali's top players.
"Give us Frederic Kanoute and Mamadou Bakayoko!" they demanded. "We're going to kill them!" Kanoute plays for Tottenham Hotspur in England and Bakayoko for Nantes in France.
Mali took the lead on Soumaila Coulibaly's goal in the 12th minute. Salifou Mustapha tied it in the 83d minute, and fans at the packed 70,000-seat stadium got upset when Kader Koubadia put Togo ahead, 2-1, in the 90th. Police fired tear gas at dozens of angry fans who ran onto the field after the goal.
State television cut its live transmission just after police fired the gas canisters.
Thousands of fans, joined by residents who were not at the match, marched to the city center, setting up barricades of burning tires, and throwing rocks and stones at traffic lights, billboards and vehicles. The window of Bamako's biggest bakery, the Patisserie Almandine, was smashed and the store was looted. One man was eating a cream cake as he carted a chair away on his head.
Cell phones, money, and cameras were stolen from passers-by.
Presidential spokesman Seydou Sissouma said, "I understand the people's disappointment, but nothing justifies such acts." He said he had heard of no injuries, and that all the soccer players had been "secured" under guard.
In another African qualifier, Achille Webo scored in the 90th minute to give Cameroon a 2-1 win over visiting Sudan. At Yaounde, Geremi Njitap gave Cameroon the lead in the 20th minute from a free kick, but Mugaid Hamed tied it in the 40th. Also in Africa, Congo tied Ghana, 1-1; Egypt thumped Libya, 4-1; Rwanda edged Algeria, 1-0; and Zimbabwe blanked Angola, 2-0.. . .
Defending Cup champion Brazil struggled to get past Peru's tight defensive scheme but prevailed, 1-0, on Kaka's goal in the 73d minute off a pass from Ronaldo at Goiania, Brazil.
"We didn't play as good as we wanted in the first half," Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said. "A team like Brazil, with the players we have, should've created more scoring chances than it did."
In South America's other game, Ecuador rallied to beat visiting Paraguay, 5-2, at Quito, getting two goals each from Edison Mendez and Antonio Valencia. 