Saturday, June 11, 2005

Gambia-Ghana (U-17)

On May 22nd Gambia and Ghana were playing the final of the U-17 African Championship. They were playing in Gambia. Watching it in Ghana, I was of course supporting the Black Stars. But a very curious thing happened: In the last minute of the match, the score was 0-0 when Gambia was awarded a corner kick. As they were taking it, a spectator ran into the penalty area. Amid the confusion, Jallow Ousman emerged and scored the winning goal for Gambia. The spectator, he ran off the pitch amid the cheers and quietly watched by the security. He has not been found.
Ghanaians were understandably extremely angry, but the referee from Lesotho accepted the goal. And Gambia are U-17 champions of Africa. What do the rules say about these things!?
These are not exactly the things African football should be known about. At the same time, it is sad that Gambia, an otherwise very talented young team, have won the title in such a disgraceful way. I hope they are ashamed.

No comments: