Senegal disqualified following riot

Senegal have been disqualified from the African Nations Cup after the riot that caused their play-off against the Ivory Coast to be abandoned.

Missiles, stones, bottles and firecrackers were thrown onto the pitch and tear gas was used during the match in Dakar.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced that the Ivory Coast have been awarded the match 2-0 and will qualify for the finals next year courtesy of a 6-2 aggregate win.

The match was abandoned in the 78th minute with Ivory Coast leading 2-0 thanks to two goals from former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, which sparked violence involving large numbers of Senegal fans.

The disqualification ensures Newcastle strike duo Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse will not have to attend the tournament in South Africa in January, while Premier League stars who will miss club matches include Manchester City's Yaya and Kolo Toure, Arsenal's Gervinho and Newcastle's Cheick Tiote.

CAF said in a statement: "CAF decided to officially confirm the result of the match as 2-0 in favour of Ivory Coast... and to consider Senegal the loser of the said match and eliminated from the competition without prejudice to any other sanctions that may be imposed by CAF disciplinary board."

CAF rules state: "If the referee is forced to stop the match before the end of the regular time because of invasion of the field or aggression against the visiting team, the host team shall be considered loser and shall be eliminated from the competition, without prejudice to the sanctions existing in the regulations."