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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper & Tahir Ibn Manzoor

Afghanistan vs Pakistan marred by violence in stands after ugly face-off between players

A dramatic Asia Cup clash between Pakistan and Afghanistan was unfortunately marred by violence as fans ripped up seats in the stadium and threw them at other spectators in shocking scenes.

In one video, a Pakistan supporter can be seen getting hit over the head with a seat, while other videos show fans ripping up seats and launching them into the crowd. Pakistan legend Shoaib Akhtar shared a clip of what appeared to be Afghanistan fans engaging in the violence and slammed their behaviour.

"This is what Afghan fans are doing," he tweeted. "This is what they've done in the past multiple times.

"This is a game and its supposed to be played and taken in the right spirit. your crowd & your players both need to learn a few things if you guys want to grow in the sport."

The violence occurred after Pakistan sealed a dramatic one wicket win which eliminated both Afghanistan and India and PCB chairman Ramiz Raja says they will 'lodge a protest' with the ICC over the 'gruesome visuals'.

Raja said: "You can't link hooliganism with cricket and this environment makes you sick. We will write to ICC, raise concerns, and do whatever we can because the visuals were gruesome

One video shows a Pakistan fan being hit with a seat by another supporter (Jam Press Vid/TIM)
The shocking incident occurred inside the Sharjah Cricket Stadium (Jam Press Vid/TIM)

"This [crowd trouble] didn't happen for the first time. Wins and losses are a part of the game. It was a gruelling contest, but emotions should have been kept in control.

"Until the environment is right, you can't grow and go forward as a cricket-playing nation. So we are going to express our anguish and frustration to the ICC.

"We owe it to our fans, anything could have happened... Our team could have been in danger... So whatever the protocol is we will follow that and lodge our protest."

Fans could also be seen ripping out seats and throwing them at each other (Jam Press Vid/TIM)
The violence happened after Pakistan won the match by one wicket (Jam Press Vid/TIM)
Asif Ali and Fareed Ahmad were involved in a fiery on-field clash (SURJEET YADAV/AFP via Getty Images)

There was also an ugly incident involving the players, with Pakistan batter Asif Ali and Afghanistan bowler Fareed Ahmad almost getting physical. After Ahmad dismissed Ali in the penultimate over of the game, he celebrated wildly in Ali's face.

The batter responded furiously, pushing Ahmad and even threatening to hit him with his bat before other players and the umpires stepped in. Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib, who is not part of their Asia Cup squad, tweeted: "This is stupidity at extreme level by Asif Ali and should be ban from the rest of the tournament, any bowler has the right to celebrate but being physical is not acceptable at all."

There have also been reports from Pakistan claiming that several people have died after fans celebrating the win on the streets of Pakistan fired shots into the air.

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