Kenya football match abandoned after referee attacked over penalty

Outrage has followed an incident in which referee John Sulwe was attacked and forced to leave a Nairobi stadium after awarding a penalty during a decisive match between Kariobangi Sharks and Mombasa United.

The game was intended to determine which club would play in Kenya’s top division next season. Kariobangi Sharks were leading 2-1 when Sulwe awarded Mombasa United a penalty.

Sharks players surrounded the referee and began pushing him, before supporters entered the pitch. A plastic seat was thrown and narrowly missed Sulwe’s head.

Stewards escorted him from the field, but the match was abandoned in the 68th minute.

Kenyan newspaper The Standard published a photograph appearing to show Sulwe being punched in the face by a man wearing a yellow cap. It described the incident as “embarrassing” and “a disgrace”.

Neither the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) nor either club has commented on what happened.

The fixture had been organised to settle an existing dispute between Kariobangi Sharks and Mombasa United.

Kariobangi Sharks were relegated from the Premier League after last season and were due to be replaced by Mombasa United. However, the Nairobi-based club challenged the relegation in court, arguing that it had been imposed under new league regulations which were not yet in force.

The FKF, which has long been affected by corruption scandals, arranged the play-off matches in an attempt to prevent the disagreement between the clubs from continuing.