Tunisia
Around 300 Tunisian football fans, who have for weeks threatened to illegally emigrate to Italy in protest over sanctions against their club, boarded fishing boats Thursday and headed out to sea.
Brandishing Tunisian flags and those of their team, Croissant Sportif Chebbien (CSC), they chanted as they sailed out of Chebba port, accompanied by the coast guard, AFP said.
The Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) on October 17, slapped a one-year ban on CS Chebba, citing an incomplete and late application file.
CSC chief Taoufik Mkacher has been in a months-long dispute with the Federation, publishing a series of Facebook posts criticizing a lack of financial transparency and calling for an audit at the federation.
The dispute escalated when reports emerged that head of the Federation since 2012, would run for the presidency of the sport's Africa-wide governing body (CAF).
When the FTF announced on October 17 that CSC would not compete in the top league, Chebba residents staged demonstrations and a general strike, and some vowed to leave the country in protest.
The protest had been put off several times but as the November 22 start of the season nears, some Chebba residents decided to go ahead.
01:11
Dozens are injured at an Eritrean event in Germany, including 26 police officers
01:07
Paul Pogba face-to-face with group accused of extorting him
02:20
Football scouts search for talent in DR Congo's turbulent east
Go to video
The Gambia secures 2nd AFCON appearance in earthquake-hit Marrakesh
01:26
Over half of Sudan's population can't access health services - WHO
00:54
Sudan army chief arrives in Qatar on third trip since war began