Share

Tunisia TV threatens football blackout after violence

Tunis - Tunisia's public TV channel Wataniya threatened on Monday to stop broadcasting football matches after two of its journalists were wounded during weekend unrest.

Fans of top club Etoile Sahel on Sunday attacked the press booth of Wataniya - which holds exclusive rights to broadcast Tunisian championship matches.

Angry fans threw stones and other projectiles, lightly injuring two journalists and damaging the booth, after their team's 1-0 defeat by Club Africain.

The violence was sparked by a contested penalty in the second half, Wataniya spokesman Elyes Jarraya told AFP.

Wataniya denounced what it called the latest in a series of "frequent attacks against its staff and equipment" and called for security measures to protect journalists.

KEEP UPDATED on the latest news from around the continent by subscribing to our FREE newsletter, Hello Africa.

FOLLOW News24 Africa on Twitter and Facebook. 

Otherwise, it warned, the channel "will be forced to stop covering matches that do not foresee the requisite protection".

Tunisia's journalists' union also strongly condemned the violence and called on the Tunisian Football Federation to take the necessary measures "to ensure the protection of journalists".

Football in Tunisia is regularly plagued by violence, especially when the country's top clubs clash.

Football violence has escalated so much in recent years that sports minister Majdouline Cherni has described it as "stadium terrorism".

In February, a riot sparked by a contested penalty and a flurry of red cards left 38 police officers injured at a league match between Etoile Sahel and bitter rival Esperance.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 500 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 708 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.90
+0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.86
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.36
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE