Drama and chaos were today witnessed in the ongoing East Africa Secondary School Games in Kakamega after St Joseph’s Boys Kitale dramatically abandoned their football clash against Uganda’s St Mary’s Kitende.
The tension boiled over in the 72nd minute when St Joseph’s protested a penalty appeal that was waved off by the referee. Angered by the decision, fans and members of the Kitale technical bench stormed the pitch, forcing the game to be halted. At the time of stoppage, Kitende were leading 2-1.
Efforts by match officials to restore calm proved futile, leading to the premature abandonment of the highly anticipated fixture. The walk-off makes St Joseph’s the first school in a decade to abandon a FEASSSA football match ironically, the last such incident involved Kitende in 2015.
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The abandonment has sparked heated debate among fans and stakeholders, casting a shadow over what has otherwise been a thrilling regional competition.
According to FIFA rules, they term it, Forfeiture if a team refuses to continue or deliberately leaves, the match is considered forfeited. The standard punishment: the opposing team is awarded a 3–0 victory, unless the actual score at stoppage was more favorable to them.
By Joyline Chebet
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