An African Cup of Nations qualifier between Senegal and Ivory Coast in Dakar was abandoned on Saturday due to rioting, BBC News reports. Senegal fans lit fires in the stands and threw objects onto the field with their team losing 2-0, a result that would have eliminated Senegal from January’s finals in South Africa.

Didier Drogba converted a penalty to make it 2-0 with about 15 minutes left in the game, a result that would have extended Ivory Coast’s aggregate lead to 6-2 in the two-leg tie. Then the violence erupted. "Food, drinks and anything that could be thrown was being thrown on to the pitch, from all angles," Chris Fuglestad, a U.S. student studying in Dakar, told the BBC. "There were fires started from garbage and they (fans) were tearing the flags down, even their own, which was pretty disturbing.”

Police fired tear gas into the stands, as Ivorian fans flooded the field to escape the violence and tear gas. Eventually, police escorted the Ivorian team and its fans outside the stadium. "We felt safer inside the stadium than outside, so we waited inside. When we left it was calming down though there was lots of tear gas," Fuglestad added.