Cape Verde’s football championship was thrown into confusion after a semi-final first leg tie had to be postponed because the stadium keys could not be found.
The semi-final was to be played between Mindelense and Ultramarina in Tarrafal, Cape Verde.
Ultramarina should have hosted the first leg but nobody could get into the Orlando Rodrigues stadium, located on the island of Sao Nicolau, because the municipal government employee who has the keys did not show up.
This left the players, officials and all the fans locked outside. The country’s football federation (FCF) has suspended the stadium but ordered Sunday’s return match to go ahead before the first leg has been played.
Players and officials waited outside the ground for almost two hours but the employee could not be located to open the stadium because even the spare set could not be found.
The match had already been postponed twice because Mindelense had problems travelling to the island of Sao Nicolau.
The country’s football federation (FCF) released a statement on its Facebook page about the situation.
Disciplinary proceedings have been opened against Ultramarina, with sanctions ranging from a simple warning to disqualification or even relegation.
