A football match at the end of the Lebanese League witnessed dramatic events in its last minutes, which witnessed a clash between the players, riots between the fans and the intervention of the police.
The match brought together Al-Ahed and Al-Ansar teams, and in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Al-Ansar scored 2-2, and two minutes later, Scotsman Lee Irwin scored Al-Ahed’s third goal from a free kick, in a result sufficient to win the title.
And the game continued for another three minutes, before a clash occurred between the players of the two teams, following a violent intervention, and then fans stormed the field after smashing the iron barrier and seats and throwing them towards the field.
Pandemonium inside Fouad Chehab Stadium during a match #supporters – #the covenant pic.twitter.com/BD0hQiEMuY
- Lebanon 24 (@Lebanon24) March 12, 2023
Several police officers intervened, stopping the match in the 99th minute, and the referee had counted 16 minutes of stoppage time due to a previous long stop. According to Al Jazeera Net.
And Al-Ahed announced on his Facebook account that he had won the league title for the second time in a row, and the ninth in its history, but he said: "No celebrations at Al Ahed Stadium tonight".
A problem during the final match of the Lebanese Football Championship between Al-Ahed and Al-Ansar led to the suspension of the match for the second time pic.twitter.com/uKlEMTEY5E
- Beirut News Center (@BeirutNc) March 12, 2023
The Lebanese Federation has not yet commented on the events, and its follow-up to the match’s events on its Twitter account stopped after the two teams tied 1-1.
The events left angry and denouncing responses, as the Minister of Youth and Sports, George Kallas, expressed his regret at the departure of some fans from the sportsmanship and their resort to violence and rioting, and called on the Lebanese Federation to deal in accordance with the laws and with the necessary wisdom with what happened.
Simon Abi Ramia, a member of the Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee, wrote on Twitter "The rioters are required to be arrested and the harshest penalties imposed. Greetings to the security forces".
What is happening in President Fouad Shehab’s stadium in Jounieh, in terms of acts of violence, confirms the correctness of what the Parliamentary Youth and Sports Committee did last week in sounding the alarm and requesting the establishment of a coordination committee between the federations and the security services to prevent these acts. The rioters must be arrested and the maximum penalties imposed. Greetings to the security forces. Enough! pic.twitter.com/9AvbDgEEeo
- Simon Abi Ramia (@SimonAbiramia) March 12, 2023
Lebanese parliament member Hagop Terzian wrote on Twitter "Failure to implement the law results in a boxing match, as happened in Fouad Chehab Stadium".
In turn, the director of public relations in the Lebanese Football Federation, Mahmoud Abu Al-Naga, announced his resignation from the federation after the events of the Al-Ahed and Al-Ansar match.
