Dominican Republic bans Haiti from its stadiums after football fans clash

Groups of fans forced through entrances, damaging a gate at the teams’ CONCACAF Nations League match in Santo Domingo.The Dominican Republic has banned Haiti’s national football team from playing at its sports venues after crowd trouble at a CONCACAF Nations League match between the two island neighbours.Sports Minister Kelvin Cruz announced the ban after incidents before the match on Thursday night at the entrances to the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo.Video posted on social media showed groups of fans forcing some entrances, with one gate damaged.“What we saw yesterday with a gate at the Felix Sanchez, a sports facility that has cost millions and millions of pesos to make it shine, is unacceptable,” Cruz said, citing a zero-tolerance policy on indiscipline.Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader backed the decision, saying: “The position of the Sports Minister is the position of the Government.”Haiti’s ⁠embassy in Santo Domingo said the remarks, made “in the heat of competition and the intensity characteristic of sporting events”, did not reflect the position of ⁠the Haitian government and thanked Dominican authorities for the event.“Sporting ⁠rivalries must not call into question relations of good neighborliness and mutual respect that must prevail between the two states,” the embassy said in a statement.In a post on X after the match, the federation called it a “beautiful night for Haiti, beautiful night for the island we share”, adding: “On the field, competition; off the field, respect for the neighbor.”Haiti won the match 4-1, with Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor scoring twice. The win gave Haiti nine points in Group A, while the Dominican Republic remained on six points. Haiti play Costa Rica in San Jose on Sunday.