20 Injured As Osun, Ondo Football Club Supporters Clash
About 20 supporters of the Ondo state owned football club, the Sunshine stars have been severely injured in a feud that ensued after a match between the team and its State of Osun counterpart, Osun United.
The Sunshine Star FC supporters, staff and other management , including the media officer of the team, Mr. Chris Okunuwa, were severely injured after they were attacked by the supporters of Osun United FC.
Addressing journalists in Akure, the state capital on Monday , the state Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mr. Saka Yusuf Ogunleye, who was flanked by the Commissioner of Information, Mr. Yemi Olowolabi, described the attack as “barbaric and uncalled for. “
Ogunleye suspected that the attack might be a reprisal attack of the Osun state Commissioner for Regional Integration, Hon. Bola Ilori, who was attacked by some thugs at the zonal meeting on true federalism of the All Progressives Congress (AP, held in Akure last week.
At the meeting, suspected political thugs descended on Ilori and embarrassed him before security agencies at the venue came to his rescue.
But Ogunleye insisted that the differences in the political camps within the APC, should not be muddled up with football.
He alleged that the Osun United FC supporters came with 10 coaster buses armed with dangerous weapons to Ijebu Ode Stadium in Ogun state to attack the supporters of the Sunshine Stars FC.
According to him, “The people of Osun came to Ondo to disrupt the zonal meeting on true federalism, they came the same way to Ijebu Ode in Ogun state to attack our people”.
Ogunleye said several of the entourage sustained varying degrees of injury, while two of them, Ayodele Folorunso and Olowa Felix were critically injured as they had machete cuts on their heads.
His words: “The match between us started peacefully until the tail end of the game when the Osun supporters invaded the stadium and started attacking our supporters and the team.
“In the process, two of our supporters were badly injured. As I am talking to you now, the C.S.O of the match is still in the hospital. It is necessary to tell the whole world what this people are doing and we cannot continue like this.
“The security agencies were able to lead the players into the dress room, but the supporters were so unlucky as most of them were badly injured.”
Ogunleye however informed that some of the attackers have been arrested by men of the Ogun State police command.