Esperance chase special treble
When Adem Taous pulls down an Esperance attacker to concede a penalty and then boots the ball into the stand in protest, one yellow card follows another and the Club Africain defender trudges off to a shower of water bottles and derision.
There is no support for Taous as one of Africa’s biggest derbies has been neutered since the revolution that convulsed Tunisia in 2011 and unleashed the Arab Spring.
With the exception of the 2016 Cup Final, only one set of fans can attend the derby – and to make matters worse, not even all of Esperance’s fans can go.
“To see it before was incredible,” sighs Nour Hassouna, who helps run a popular Esperance website, nodding at the empty stands behind both goals. “Now there are so many fan groups – Blood and Gold, Zapatista, Warriors, Fedayn – and they fight each other for control of the curve.”
Some fans staged a sit-in
