In a tournament final marred by controversy and violence, the Pibor football team has been declared the champion of the Aweil Martyrs Football Tournament.
The decision came after chaos erupted during the final moments of the match, leading to the suspension of the game and a subsequent resolution by the tournament organizers.
The tense final match took place between Pibor Football Team and Aweil North County Team at the Buluk Training Ground. Pibor team was leading 2-1 when pandemonium broke out in the 91st minute as fans of the Aweil North County team invaded the pitch, disrupting the game.
The disturbance was triggered by the supporters’ allegations of poor refereeing that supposedly led to Pibor’s second goal. Following the second goal by Pibor Football Team, the Aweil North County supporters invaded the pitch and broke chairs, forcing the deployment of police to calm the situation.
The escalating disorder led the match official to suspend the game for the safety of players and officials. Following the incident, the Confluence of Aweil Athletes (CAA) in Juba convened on July 20th to address the matter.
Marco Akol Deng, Secretary General of the Confluence of Aweil Athletes, said during a press conference in Juba on Saturday that the organizers had made a decision to award the tournament trophy to Pibor Team, deeming the Aweil North County Team responsible for the disruption and violence. The organisers also stated that the official scoreline for the match stands at 2-0 in favour of the Pibor Team.
Additionally, the Aweil North County Team has been penalized with a fine of 2 million SSP (South Sudanese Pounds) to compensate for the losses incurred during the riots. Failure to pay the fine will result in the team’s suspension from the tournament for a period of two years, as outlined in Article number 78 of the SSFA general regulations and paragraph 21 of the tournament rules.
“The Aweil North team must pay a fine of 2,000,000 million South Sudanese Pounds to cover the losses that occurred during the riots, and failure to pay it deprives the Aweil North team of participating in the tournament for a period of two years,” emphasized Marco Akol Deng.
Deng further condemned the violent behaviour exhibited by the Aweil North County Team’s supporters and apologised to the South Sudan Football Association for the unfortunate incident.
“The CAA and organizing committee for Aweil Martyrs Tournament 1st Edition condemn the behaviour that was caused by the Aweil North fans, this behaviour is not a character of Aweil and its people, and we consider it extraneous and rejected by the Confluence of Aweil Athletes in Juba,” said Marko Akol Deng.