Steve Menary reports
When Adem Taous pulls down an
Esperance attacker to concede a
penalty and then boots the ball into
the stand in protest, one yellow card
follows another and the Club Africain
defender trudges off to a shower of
water bottles and derision.
There is no support for Taous as
one of Africa’s biggest derbies has
been neutered since the revolution
that convulsed Tunisia in 2011 and
unleashed the Arab Spring.
With the exception of the 2016
Cup Final, only one set of fans can attend
the derby – and to make matters worse,
not even all of Esperance’s fans can go.
“To see it before was incredible,” sighs
Nour Hassouna, who helps run a popular
Esperance website, nodding at the empty
stands behind both goals. “Now there are
so many fan groups – Blood and Gold,
Zapatista, Warriors, Fedayn – and they
fight each other for control of the curve.”
Some fans staged a sit-in outside
Esperance’s base in downtown Tunis
the night before the game and set offeye
witness
TUNISIAEsperance chase
special treble