Daily Observer senior reporter Alieu Ceesay was left in severe pain after he was hit by a stone thrown into the pitch by fans of the Sukuta Zonal team after their quarterfinal defeat to Banjul on Sunday.

The violence that erupted at the end of the game at the Serekunda Mini-Stadium also left dozens of people sustaining injuries. Ceesay said he was hit by the stone on the head while he was conducting a post-match interview.

Banjul narrowly defeated Sukuta 1-0 courtesy of Mutarr Sugufara's 25th minute goal that saw the city-based side secure a place in the last four of the competition at the expense of the West Coast Region outfit.

According to our reporter, the Sukutarians tried to level the scores but could not find the back of the net. "The saga started during the game as fans who we could not say where they belong to were heard insulting the central referee for being unfair and for bad officiating.

"The additional time after the full 90 minutes also added salt to injury, as according to the Sukutarians, the added time was too short considering the time-wasting during the game, particularly by the city boys goalkeeper," he added.

After the final whistle, Sukuta fans started throwing stones, and despite efforts by the Police Intervention Unit to restore order, the violence continued. It would be recalled that Sukuta together with Bakau were earlier on fined by the Super Nawettan Committee following a fracas thaterupted after Sukuta stunned Bakau 2-1 at the Serekunda West Park.