Six dead after AFCON celebrations with fans riding on car bonnets after Guinea beat The Gambia

Six dead after AFCON celebrations with fans riding on car bonnets after Guinea beat The Gambia

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Stuart Ballard

By Stuart Ballard


Published: 22/01/2024

- 13:59

Guinea's win over Gambia at the Africa Cup of Nations has been marred by wild celebrations in their home country.

The Guinean Football Federation have called for calm after six supporters were killed during wild celebrations after their Africa Cup of Nations win over The Gambia.

Guinea are now on the verge of qualifying for the knockout stage after Aguibou Camara's goal was enough for them to beat The Gambia.


They sit second in their group with Cameroon needing to beat Gambia to stand a chance of catching Guinea in their final game.

Guinea's victory over The Gambia sparked wild celebrations in their homeland as fans spilled out into the streets of the capital Conakry.

Guineans celebrated wildly after their AFCON win

Guineans celebrated wildly after their AFCON win

GETTY

Agence France Presse reported that supporters were seen driving around on top of car bonnets as the celebrations got out of hand.

Three people are said to have died when two vehicles collided at high speed and many more were injured in separate road accidents.

The Guinean Football Federation (Feguifoot) confirmed a total of six people had died as a result of the wild celebrations.

They've now called for calm amid concerns the wild scenes could be repeated if Guinea progress to the next stage.

"What is important is that our fans and the public celebrate in a very measured fashion," Feguifoot media manager Amadou Makadji told the BBC.

"They have to be very careful to not put themselves in danger, because the goal of football is to bring joy and not leave families bereaved.

"We do not want deaths to mourn, so we call on everyone to celebrate but to take care of themselves so that nothing happens to them.

"Guinea is a country where people are very, very passionate about football and they experience football like nowhere else in the world."

Guinea need a draw to secure their place in the next round

Guinea need a draw to secure their place in the next round

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Guinea have never won the Africa Cup of Nations, with their closest run coming in 1976 when they lost to Morocco in the final.

They went on a run between 2004 and 2008 of reaching three consecutive quarter-finals.

Pascal Feindouno played a huge role in Guinea's run in that period and has urged his compatriots to tone down their celebrations.

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Guinea beat The Gambia by a single goal

Guinea beat The Gambia by a single goal

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"I have a message to send to Guinean men and women," he said.

"Rest assured that we will do something at the Nations Cup but we have learned something that will destabilise us.

"We learned there were deaths after the victory against The Gambia - we want this to stop because we are here to defend the colours of the country.

"Everything is going well for us at the moment so support the country but don't do anything to kill each other or oneself. Stay calm - thank you."

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