MALABO –African football chiefs on Friday hit Equatorial Guinea with a $100 000 fine for unrest in a Africa Cup of Nations semifinal in which 36 fans were injured.

But the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said that despite disturbances blamed on Equatorial Guinea fans in Thursday's semifinal defeat to Ghana, supporters would be allowed into the country's third-place play off against Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday.

CAF meted out the fine to the Nations Cup hosts "for aggressive behaviour and being repeat offenders" for crowd trouble, said a confederation statement.

An order to play Saturday's third place playoff behind closed doors was suspended "to promote a spirit of Fair-play and brotherhood during the AFCON2015".

But CAF made it clear that if there was more unrest then it would "automatically impose the sanction of playing behind closed doors the Equatorial Guinean team's next official match".

Saturday's play-off is being held at the same 15 000-seater stadium in Malabo where Equatorial Guinea's supporters pelted Ghanaian fans with plastic bottles and chairs on Thursday night.

The game was halted for over half an hour with Ghana eventually winning 3-0 to set up a final on Sunday with Ivory Coast in Bata.

As the missiles rained down, the 500 visiting Ghana fans poured onto the pitch and play was halted eight minutes from time as security officials battled to regain control.

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) described the scene as a "war zone."

Local supporters became increasingly angry at an inept showing by the home team who struggled against a Ghana side ranked 81 places higher in the world.