MALABO: Equatorial Guinea have been fined US$100,000 for the crowd trouble at their African Nations Cup semi-final defeat by Ghana on Thursday.

The Confederation of African Football also said that the team would have to play a game behind closed doors should there be any repeat of the incident.

That means fans will attend Equatorial Guinea’s third-place play-off match against DR Congo on Saturday.

Equatorial Guinea must also pay for the treatment of 36 fans who were injured.

CAF said in a statement on Friday  that “14 fans were transferred to hospital units for further investigations. One case requires close monitoring”.

The match at Malabo Stadium, which is situated on an island off the mainland, was halted on 82 minutes after Ghana fans massed behind a goal as they tried to evade missiles being thrown at them by home supporters.

Police moved in to tried to restore order, using batons and firing tear gas, and a police helicopter hovered over the stadium.

After a delay of more than 30 minutes the match resumed for three minutes and Ghana completed a 3-0 win.

Caf added that it had examined the reports from officials and imposed the punishment on Equatorial Guinea for “the aggressive and recidivist behaviour of its supporters”.

The governing body noted that it was not the first time the home fans had caused problems at the tournament – there were incidents at earlier games against Gabon and Tunisia.

But it said: “To promote the spirit of fair play and friendship during the 2015 African Nations Cup, the committee has decided to suspend the closed doors match on the condition that supporters are not guilty of such an infraction in the third-place match.”

DR Congo defender Gabriel Zakuani has said he wants the third-place play-off game called off.

“If they’re throwing this [rocks and glass] at players, Eq Guinea, you can have 3rd place, I love football but prefer to live,” Zakuani, 28, tweeted.

However, head coach Florent Ibenge said he is happy for the game to go ahead.

“We are serene and we are preparing to play this game. We want to win this third place and give joy but we are really not scared of this,” he said.

The 15,250-capacity Malabo Stadium will again be used to host the match.

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