Gor Mahia fined by CAF for crowd trouble

Anti-riot police lead away Gor Mahia FC fan after the clubs fans invaded the pitch after their Caf Confederation Cup match against Petro Atletico FC at the Moi International conference centre on March 17, 2019. Gor Mahia FC won 1-0. [Stafford Ondego/www.sportpicha.com]

Gor Mahia have been fined Sh1.5 million by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for crowd trouble during its continental matches.

The fines will eat into the club’s revenue from CAF and comes at a time Gor Mahia have been eliminated from the quarter-finals of the Confederations Cup.

The club has been slapped a Sh 500,000 fine after their fans threw water bottles on the pitch during a match against Algerian club Hussein Dey which Gor Mahia won 2-0.

They will also pay another Sh1million after fans invaded the pitch during a match against Angolan club Petro Atletico.

Rachier complained fans were costing the club dearly as they will receive significantly lower revenues from CAF.

“It is strange that our fans celebrate by throwing bottles on the pitch. This kind of behaviour is costing us dearly and needs to be stopped,” he said yesterday.

This is not the first time the club is being fined. They had earlier been fined Sh1million after two of their players were fined guilty of unbecoming play.

At the same time, Rachier has absolved the club officials from any blame regarding the bungled travel plans to Morocco for their Confederations Cup match last weekend.

He instead said the chaos were contributed to after ministry of sports failed to confirm their travel plans on time.

“In early April, I met top Sports Ministry officials who agreed to provide us with 30 air tickets. A week later, we were asked to collect the same but the same were not ready,” he explained

Following the delay in acquiring the tickets, Rachier said they were forced to travel in batches.

He also accused some players of fomenting rebellion in the team and promised that the club will take disciplinary action against the culprits.