Mogadishu City Club (MCC) have apologised for unpalatable behaviour by a section of their fans during last Saturday’s CAF Champions League encounter against Kenya Police at the Nyayo Stadium.
In a statement, the Somalian team criticised fans who were pictured disrespecting the Kenyan flag and harassing fans of their opponents.
“On behalf of Mogadishu City Club, we strongly condemn this act and extend our deepest apologies to the government and people of Kenya. Such behaviour has no place in football or in the spirit of friendship and sportsmanship that this competition represents,” the club said.
The incidents in question involve a number of fans who were captured on video, desecrating the Kenyan flag by stepping on it.
In one of the videos, seen on social media, two young fans are seen kicking the Kenyan flag before one of them picked it up and used it to derogatorily rub his private parts.
The videos left many social media users irate, almost degenerating into an online warfare between Kenyans and the Somali community.
However, a section of users felt that the culprits should be held individually responsible for their actions without dragging an entire community or nation into the issue.
On its part, MCC have called on the Kenyan authorities to take stern action against the culprits.
“We fully support any appropriate action by the Kenyan authorities against those involved. We also urge our fans – especially the younger generation (Gen-Z) – to always respect all nations, their flags and their people,” they said.
The two teams clash at the same venue this Sunday for the second leg of the continental competition – in what will be a home game for the law enforcers.
The first leg, a home game for the Somalia club, was held at Nyayo for lack of a proper venue back home for MCC.
Police come into the match with a healthy 3-1 lead from the first leg and will be expected to progress to the next preliminary round.
