Violence follows Senegal’s exit

Senegal's failure to qualify to the final stage of qualifying for the 2010 World and Africa Cup of Nations was met by a hail of missiles from their fans in Dakar.

A 1-1 draw with local rivals, Gambia, left the Teranga Lions in third place in their group and sparked serious trouble.

Shortly after the final whistle at the Leopord Sedat Senghore stadium on Saturday, angry Senegalese supporters took to the streets vandalising governing vehicles and houses.

The headquarters of the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) was also attacked by angry mobs who caused extensive damages before they were driven back by police using tear gas.  The tunnel leading to the changing rooms was badly damaged and many windows in the stadium were smashed.  Fires were lit both inside and outside the grounds after the final whistle.

The Gambian fans and players were kept back after the game as a precaution.

Several people were injured in the violence but the extent of their injuries is not known.

The fans were angry after a tepid display by the home team saw them concede an equaliser four minutes from full-time. It was an unconvincing performance from Senegal throughout but they took the lead on 62 minutes through a scuffed goal from Kader Mangane.  Gambia had been the better team throughout and secured a point with just minutes remaining in the game.

Condemnation

A member of the Normalisation Committee that is running Senegalese football has condemned the violence.

"I think that everything that happened was most regrettable - because the damage caused has been enormous, especially here at the federation," Nouha Cisse told reporters.

"But at the same time, it's understandable because the Senegalese have long been under the illusion since 2002 that one day we would win something. Unfortunately, that illusion has been truly shattered now," he said.

"Also, at the moment, there is an illness - economic, social, cultural, political illness here, and all those tensions came out when a sporting defeat was added to them. I think, without exaggerating, that Senegalese football is at ground zero. That's to say that we can go no lower. And we've hit rock bottom on almost all levels," he went on.

"The best expression of ground zero can be seen here in the federation, which they've totally vandalised and this is symbolic - that they've attacked the best symbol of football administration, which really shows how we've hit rock bottom," he concluded.