Dominican Republic bans Haiti from its stadiums after football fans clash

Santo Domingo - The Dominican Republic has prohibited Haiti's national football team from playing in the country after a chaotic incident during a match between the two nations in the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium. Haitian fans attempted to breach the stadium, which was already sold out for the game. This latest altercation adds to existing tensions between the neighboring Caribbean countries of Dominican Republic and Haiti.

The sports ministry has completely barred the Haitian national football team from participating in any sports venues in the Dominican Republic. Kelvin Cruz, the Dominican sports minister, described the stadium rush as "unacceptable." The incident occurred following Haiti's 4-1 victory over the Dominican Republic in the Concacaf Nations League, which was the first match between the two sides on Dominican soil since 2013.

Haitian striker Wilson Isidor made comments that incensed some Dominicans, shouting "Hispaniola is Haiti! This is Haiti!" after scoring two goals. Jose Deschamps, the head of the Dominican Republic's football federation, stated that Isidor's remarks were "not appropriate" given the current state of relations between the countries.

Haiti has been plagued by gang violence in recent years, with some regions of the country controlled by heavily armed criminal syndicates that local authorities have struggled to control. In an attempt to address the issue, Dominican President Luis Abinader has made cracking down on Haitian immigration a major priority, including constructing a wall along the shared border. In the first eight months of this year, over 265,000 Haitians were expelled from the Dominican Republic, according to official statistics.