The Dominican Republic on Friday banned Haiti’s national football team from playing in its stadiums, following crowd unrest during a Nations League match between the neighbouring teams, organised by the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), which Haiti won 4-1.
Haiti ban follows stadium entrance breach
Dominican Sports Minister Kelvin Cruz announced the ban after incidents at the entrances to the Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo before Thursday evening’s match. A video circulating on social media showed groups of fans forcing their way through some of the stadium entrances, damaging one of the gates.
Cruz said what happened at the entrance to the Félix Sánchez Stadium, a sports facility that had “cost millions and millions of pesos to build so it could be in the finest condition”, was unacceptable. The minister said a policy of zero tolerance for indiscipline was being followed. Dominican President Luis Abinader backed the decision, saying that “the Sports Minister’s position is the government’s position”.
Haiti federation defends spirit of competition
The Haitian Football Federation, in a post on its account on the X platform after the match, described it as “a beautiful night for Haiti, a beautiful night for the island we share”, adding: “On the pitch, competition; off the pitch, respect for our neighbour.” Sunderland forward Wilson Isidore scored two of Haiti’s four goals.
The victory took Haiti’s tally to nine points in Group A, while the Dominican Republic remained on six points. The dispute also extended to a filmed comment by Isidore in which he said that “Hispaniola is Haiti”. Hispaniola is a Caribbean island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, whose relations have been marked by continuing disputes over migration and border security.
José Deschamps, president of the Dominican Football Federation, described Isidore’s comment as showing “disrespect for national sovereignty”. He said the federation would file a complaint with world football’s governing body, FIFA, and CONCACAF over the incident.
The sporting crisis comes as Abinader’s government takes a tougher stance on migration. Since October 2024, it has stepped up deportations of Haitians living in the country illegally, after pledging to deport up to 10,000 people a week. Disputes between the two countries have previously affected sporting activities.
In 2023, Abinader closed the border over a dispute concerning a canal Haiti had built on the shared Massacre River. Haiti’s Sports Ministry later asked its football federation to stop hosting national-team matches in the Dominican Republic.
