Not less than five supporters of Guinea National Football team have reportedly died in separate accidents while celebrating their victory over Gambia at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, prompting the country’s football federation to call for calm.
Aguibou Camara scored the only goal to give Guinea a narrow 1-0 victory last Friday, to give his country hope of making it to the knock-out stage of the tournament.
The victory led to fans in Guinea’s capital Conakry taking to the streets to celebrate in cars and on motorbikes.
Agence France Presse reported that three people died when two vehicles collided at high speed, while others were injured in road accidents.
Some fans were reported to have celebrated by perching on car bonnets in the capital city.
Guinea Football Federation media manager Amadou Makadji told the BBC that six people have been confirmed dead during the celebrations.
The country’s FA have appealed for fans to celebrate in a measured fashion to avoid further tragedy.
‘What is important is that our fans and the public celebrate in a very measured fashion,’ Feguifoot media manager Amadou Makadji told BBC Sport Africa.
‘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 be mourned, 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 legend Pascal Feindouno, who helped the national team reach three consecutive quarter-finals between 2004 and 2008, joined the appeals for calm.
Feindouno claimed the news of fan deaths could destabilize the team and urged the public to ‘support the country but don’t do anything to kill each other or oneself’.
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