The strange case of Orlando
Pirates striker Thamsanqa
Gabuza's walk-off is the latest,
rare as it is, case of a player
leaving the pitch of his own
accord during a match.
Gabuza stormed off to the
changeroom following Pirates'
opening goal at Black Leopards in
the Absa Premiership on Tuesday,
after remonstrating with fans.
He had faced a volley of abuse
from the crowd after missing a
number of early chances in the
game, and it was certainly not the
first time he had faced the ire of
supporters during a five-year stay
with The Buccaneers.
So when his cross was turned into
the net by a Leopards defender,
Gabuza ripped his shirt off and
celebrated wildly, before letting
the fans know exactly how he felt
about them, angrily throwing his
jersey into the stands.
After coach Milutin Sredojevic
berated him, and shoved him in
the chest, Gabuza stormed off.
He later reappeared with a
heavily strapped thigh and
claimed injury, though it did not
fool the referee, who promptly
produced two yellow cards, one
for removing his shirt during the
incident, and the other for
leaving the field of play without
permission.
KweséESPN looks back in history
at other instances of African
players taking themselves off the
park.
Zamalek
Cairo derbies between Al Ahly
and Zamalek are usually
tempestuous affairs, and it was no
different in 1999 when the latter
staged a walk-off after just two
minutes.
French referee Mark Batta had
shown a red card to Zamalek
player Ayman Abdel Aziz for a
tackle from behind. His
teammates were incensed and
staged a walk-off, refusing to
return, and the game was
awarded to Ahly.
Zamalek were fined by the
Egyptian FA and four fans even
took them to court, claiming the
players had intentionally thrown
the game.
Ivan McKinley
Former Wits University and South
Africa defender Ivan McKinley did
not walk off so much as sprint
off. McKinley, who spent most of
his career in the United States,
frequently suffered from pre-
match nerves, but during one
particular match in 1995, the
attack came mid-match.
Desperately in need of the toilet,
McKinley made a headlong dash
for the changeroom. Problem
was, he had already been booked
earlier in the game, so upon his
return, the referee warned him
that if he so much as put one
foot on the pitch, he would
receive a second yellow card, and
thus be dismissed.
No amount of appealing for
common sense could sway the
referee's mind, so McKinley --
who went on to play for Tampa
Bay Mutiny, New England
Revolution and DC United -- was
forced to watch the rest of the
match from the bench.
Alex Nyarko
Everton's Ghanaian midfielder
Alex Nyarko did not quite walk
off the pitch at Arsenal during a
4-1 defeat in 2001, but asked to
be substituted after an incident
with a fan.
Nyarko was not having a good day
as far as performances go, and
when an Everton fan came onto
the turf and offered to swap
shirts with the midfielder,
suggesting he, the fan, would do
a better job playing for the
Toffees, the player lost his cool.
He approached manager Walter
Smith and asked to be
substituted, which he was five
minutes later.
It would be the end for him at
the club, and although he told
journalists he was quitting football
after the game, Nyarko went on
to play for both Monaco and Paris
St Germain, eventually calling it a
day in 2007.
Gora Ibrahim
Not quite a walk-off, but a
moment of madness to end a
career, as South African Gora
Ibrahim was so incensed at being
substituted during the first half
while playing for Rabali Blackpool
that he karate-kicked his coach
Walter Rautmann in the chest.
The Austrian ended up in hospital
with fractured ribs and Ibrahim
had to leave the ground with a
police escort. He never played
professionally again, hanging up
his boots at the age of 29.
Normally a placid man by all
accounts, Ibrahim later described
the incident as "embarrassing and
out of character".
Kevin-Prince Boateng
On a more serious note, Ghana
international Kevin-Prince Boateng
took a firm stand against racist
chanting from fans when he
walked off the field, followed by
both sets of players, in a pre-
season friendly between AC Milan
and lower league side Pro Patria
in 2013.
After fans continually made racist
chants, Boateng picked up the ball
and kicked it into the crowd,
removed his shirt and walked off.
Even the match officials followed,
and it was the first time a team
had walked off due to racism.
Sulley Muntari
Not all such incidents have a
satisfactory ending though.
Boateng's Ghana international
teammate Sulley Muntari was
banned for one game after
walking off in protest over racist
abuse from fans while playing for
Pescara against Cagliari in Seria A
in 2017.
After Muntari complained to the
referee about chanting aimed at
him from the start of the match,
he was booked by the match
official. That prompted Muntari to
walk off the field and leave his
side to play the final few minutes
with 10 men.
He was later banned by Italian
authorities for one game, though
this was rescinded after
widespread protest.
Katlehong City
The match between South Africa's
Mamelodi XI and Real Katlehong
City in 1971 was abandoned five
minutes from the end by referee
Paul Nkabinde after City players
walked off the field.
Irate fans had invaded the pitch
when Nkabinde disallowed a late
Mamelodi XI equaliser. Faced with
the crowd, the referee changed
his mind and gave the goal,
prompting the walk-off by
Katlehong City.
They felt robbed of what looked
like a becoming a hard-earned
victory, as they had been forced
to start the game with just seven
players because of the late arrival
of some of their team.
Referee
The referee walked off during the
Durban derby between Golden
Arrows and Zulu Royals in South
Africa in 1972 because both
teams ignored his decisions.
Arrows' captain Meshack Gcaba
refused to go off after being
given his marching orders. The
referee decided to ignore him
and played on, but when Gcaba
touched the ball next, the ref
stopped the game and gave
Royals a free-kick, saying the
player was "officially out of play".
This set off more arguments,
which led to the referee packing
up and going home with the
score deadlocked at 1-1. The
points were later awarded to
Royals and Gcaba was suspended
by the league.

Jorge Santoro
Jorge Santoro walked out as coach
of Moroka Swallows at half-time
of a BP Top Challenge Cup
quarterfinal match against Aces in
South Africa in 1977 when
chairman Jack Sello vetoed a
proposed substitution.
Swallows scored two goals in the
second half without their coach to
win 3-2 and book a semifinal
place. For days afterwards,
Swallows tried to persuade the
Brazilian coach to return but
without any success.
kwese.espn.com/football/south-africa/story/3616478/thamsanqa-gabuza-orlando-pirates-kevin-prince-boateng-sulley-muntari?device=featurephone