Guinea game postponed after coup

CAPE TOWN, South Africa >> A World Cup qualifying game in Guinea was postponed as an apparent coup d’etat unfolded in the West African nation on Sunday, and the visiting Moroccan team reportedly left the country safely after being confined to its hotel as gunshots rang out nearby.

Guinea was due to host Morocco in a Group I game on Monday in the capital, Conakry.

But President Alpha Conde was detained by mutinous soldiers the day before the game and hours after heavy gunfire was heard near the presidential palace in Conakry. Soldiers then announced on state television that the government had been dissolved.

“The political and security situation in Guinea is quite volatile,” the Confederation of African Football said in a statement announcing the qualifier had been postponed “to ensure safety” of players and match officials. CAF and FIFA were closely monitoring the situation, CAF said.

Guinea’s borders were closed but the Moroccan squad was given permission to leave, according to local news reports.

“We’re at the hotel, gunshots can be heard nearby,” Morocco coach Vahid Halilhodzic told French newspaper L’Equipe earlier in the day when the team was stranded while an aircraft waited at the airport.

Match officials were also eventually allowed to leave Guinea, the reports said.

It was not immediately clear when Guinea’s Europe-based players including Liverpool’s Naby Keita and Sochaux’s Florentin Pogba, the brother of Manchester United’s Paul Pogba, would be able to return to their clubs. CAF gave no new date for the game to be played.