Drama as Gaza Stars vs Karantiil Ramadhan Cup semifinal clash is abandoned

There was drama at the New Eastleigh Primary School as the Ramadan Cup semifinal match between Gaza Stars and Karantiil was abandoned at 0-0 in the second half following a bitter exchange of words betweens some players of both teams and one of the organisers of the tournament.

The Ramadan Cup is a 9-a-side tournament played in two halves of 35 minutes. The match was evenly contested until the 45th minute when the referee awarded Gaza Stars a penalty after a Karantiil player had prevented goal by handling the ball.

Karantiil players protested the decision to award the penalty prompting one of the organisers to enter the pitch to restore calm but his presence resulted in him exchanging words with one of the Karantiil players.

Tempers cooled after a few minutes and the match restarted from the penalty spot but Gaza Stars failed to take advantage as the Karantiil goalkeeper made a save to the delight of his relieved teammates.

However, the game was brought to a standstill again after one of the Karantiil players continued exchanging words with a tournament official and their spat drew in a Gaza Stars player. The back and forth caused fans to invade in the pitch in a bid to help restore calm but after minutes of discussions between fans, organisers, and the teams, the match was abandoned.

"We have decided to call off the match. The match will be replayed in full on Sunday and we will have a disciplinary meeting to determine the next course of action on the players who contributed to the match being abandoned," Feisal Mohammed, one of the tournament organisers, told The Eastleigh Voice.

Feisal also confirmed that tomorrow's semifinal match between Burhan and Corner Legends will go on as planned.

"Burhan and Corner Legends will contest the other semifinal on Saturday at 5:30 pm as planned," Feisal said.

After the semifinal matches, the Ramadan Cup will take a break to pave way for a mini-tournament. The finals of the mini-tournament and that of the Ramadan Cup will be played at the end of Ramadan.