PHOTOS: Stranded Gor Mahia players sleep on airport floor hours to big game

A Gor Mahia player sleeps on the floor of a waiting lobby at Doha International Airport. [Courtesy]

In an increasingly familiar tale of Kenyan sportsmen and women woes on international duty, Gor Mahia are at it, again.

Photos of the players sleeping at an airport waiting lounge have hit the internet, fanning an uproar among football fanatics.

The players, who were en route to Morocco to face RS Berkane in their CAF Confederations Cup quarter-finals return leg resorted to sleeping on the airport floor as the awaited their flight to Morroco.

The pictures where taken at the Doha International Airport.

“The players were forced to sleep on the airport floor because the club did not have funds to pay for their accommodation,” said a player who sought anonymity.

Gor Mahia player had earlier been forced to return for training on Thursday after Qatar Airlines denied they had travel bookings already reserved for them.

Gor Mahia skipped the pre-match conference as they had not reached the match venue.

More players take a nap as they await their flight.  [Courtesy]

With the journey involving over 15 hours of travelling, a section of the team will not have enough time to rest before the match.

However, the club has come out to deny the allegations of mistreatment and called the pictures 'stage managed'.

In a Facebook post, Club Treasurer Sally Bolo bashed the players saying that she was also at the airport but she did not sleep on the floor.

Before the first leg, Gor was similarly embroiled in troubles with the players refusing to train two days to the game due to unpaid allowances. 

Club officials had to convince them to come to the stadium in the morning of the match.

Hill to climb

In Morroco, Gor Mahia will be under pressure as they seek to overturn a 2-0 defeat they suffered at home last weekend.

Gor’s Joash Onyango, Francis Kahata and Philemon Otieno, Peter Odhiambo, Lawrence Juma, Geoffrey Ochieng, Nicholas Kipkirui, Kenneth Muguna, Boniface Omondi and Erisa Ssekisambu will be tasked with firing the team to the last four of the competition.

Rwandese talisman Jacques Tuyisenge, Shafik Batambuze and Ernest Wendo are all still serving bans.

Head coach Hassan Oktay says he is optimistic of making the impossible possible. “Berkane have a two goal advantage and we will be missing some of our key players.”

Gor Mahia has recorded a poor away form in the competition.