Dominican Republic bans Haiti national team from its stadiums after Nations League crowd trouble

The Dominican Republic banned Haiti’s national football team from playing at its sports venues on Friday after crowd trouble marred Thursday night’s CONCACAF Nations League match between the two island neighbours in Santo Domingo.

Sports Minister Kelvin Cruz announced the ban after incidents before the match at the entrances to the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium. Videos posted on social media showed groups of fans forcing entrances, with one gate damaged.

“What we saw yesterday with a gate at the Felix Sanchez, a sports facility that has cost millions and millions of pesos to make it shine, is unacceptable,” Cruz said, citing a zero-tolerance policy on indiscipline. President Luis Abinader backed the decision: “The position of the Sports Minister is the position of the Government.”

The clash has spilled beyond the terraces. After Haiti’s 4-1 win — Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor scoring twice — Isidor was filmed saying “Hispaniola is Haiti”, the name of the island the two nations share. Dominican federation president Jose Deschamps called the remark “a lack of respect for national sovereignty” and said the federation would file a complaint with FIFA and CONCACAF.

The Haitian Football Federation said it did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment, but posted on X after the match: “beautiful night for Haiti, beautiful night for the island we share… On the field, competition; off the field, respect for the neighbor.”

The win gave Haiti nine points in Group A against the Dominican Republic’s six, with Haiti playing Costa Rica in San Jose on Sunday. The dispute echoes deeper tensions: Abinader has stepped up deportations of undocumented Haitians since October 2024, when the government pledged up to 10,000 deportations a week.