AFC Leopards have said that Gor Mahia should take the blame for the violence witnessed during the Mashemeji Derby on Saturday.
A section of Ingwe fans were caught on tape ripping the seats at Kasarani but the club have now distanced themselves from any wrong doing, saying that the home team should take full blame.
“The home team is responsible for providing security and in this case, no police officers were present on the stands to act as a deterrent measure to any fan that may have a bad intent.
“A derby is a high-risk match and we believe that police officers were not deployed as per the requirement of a match of such magnitude,” the club said in a statement.
This is appalling. Fans who do this should be ashamed of themselves. And their club punished severely! #MashemejiDerby #TheScoreKE pic.twitter.com/FuOzTQ3lN8
— Carol Radull (@CarolRadull) August 25, 2018
Ingwe also questioned the integrity of the match officials and the general conduct of Gor Mahia coach Dylan Kerr. “The action of our counterpart coach after the second goal should be discouraged as it doesn’t show sportsmanship and only acts to incite fans.”
OFFICIAL: Club STATEMENT on crowd trouble during the Gor Mahia FC vs AFC Leopards SC match on 25.08.2018. #Ingwe pic.twitter.com/V1rNmtdgAB
— AFC Leopards SC (@AFCLeopards) August 27, 2018
Ingwe, however, say they have initiated a process of identifying the culprits so that they can be brought to book.
“The hooligans, who were pictured destroying seats at the stadium are not members of our club and we have engaged members, who can identify and help bring them to book for tainting the image of the club.”
Gor have also send countered the allegations, with coach Dylan Kerr saying he should not be b;lamed for what happened in the derby.
He has insisted that he did nothing wrong while celebrating the team’s second goal.
Responding to Ingwe claims, the Briton tactician said that he did not incite fans to act like they did. “How am I to blame for the riots? If I celebrate, I did it with my fans and was pelted with water bottles from AFC Leopards fans.
“Any team that wins the league will always invade the pitch …but AFC Leopards are totally responsible for their fans action, not Gor Mahia. My main aim was to try and calm the fans down, I also went to request my fans (Gor Mahia) to stay safe from the flying objects.”