Enraged Côte d’Ivoire supporters marched through the streets to express their discontent over the Elephants’ humiliating 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea on Monday. This defeat has placed Jean-Louis Gasset’s team on the verge of elimination from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The outcome marked Côte d’Ivoire’s most significant setback since their 5-0 defeat against the Netherlands on June 4, 2017. As the protests escalated, police used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, who vandalized any valuable items within reach. The official bus of the Elephants also fell victim to the protesters’ anger.
Although an attempt to set fire to the office of the Cote d’Ivoire Football Federation was thwarted by the police, an official statement from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is still pending. Organizers may consider taking punitive measures against the hosts in response to the unrest.