A journalist celebrates "half-naked" in the press stand at the African Championship/from social networks
Scandalous behavior by journalists at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast has prompted the African Football Confederation to issue new guidelines and tighten restrictions on members of the media and their access to the stands following consultation with local police.
The behavior of several journalists at the tournament caused quite a few embarrassing incidents in the media stands, with fights, teasing and "half-naked" that made headlines.
"Someone danced naked in the press stand," an African Union of Journalists official told the gathered at the Felix Hoppe-Boini stadium in Abidjan on Friday, explaining the new guidelines.
"We cannot accept this... We understand that we are all football fans and passionate about our national teams, but journalists are expected to maintain professional standards."
A colorful and unique atmosphere, but there is a limit.
African Championship/GettyImages
A journalist celebrates in the stands shirtless
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The organizers announced that they would deport and revoke the accreditation of any media person involved in "wild celebrations and teasing of other media colleagues."
One of the scandals was after Ghana's 2:2 draw against Mozambique, when journalists shouted at players and cursed at them in the mix-zone.
The Ivory Coast players were also teased by journalists following their 4:0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea.
The Senegal-Guinea and Morocco-South Africa games saw clashes between upset media members.
One of the Ghanaian players had to apologize, when he tried to attack a journalist who teased him.
The incident that upset the organizers was the behavior of a reporter from the Ivory Coast during his team's victory over Senegal, when videos of him dancing half-naked in the press stand were distributed on the network.
"Beats, curses, tricks, it's a distressing and embarrassing scene since the beginning of the championship," the statement said, "the media's work spaces have become a boxing ring, or even simply a dance floor."
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