I decided to take a foreign colleague of mine to the stadium this
afternoon to watch a game between Moroka Swallows and Mamelodi Sundowns so that
he can experience “real: South African soccer, live. What a bad day to do that…
For some strange reason, tickets for the game were not made
available at Computicket. Thus, we first
had to endure a struggle and look for the place or individual who was selling
tickets for the game. This delayed us slightly and we missed out on seeing the game’s
opening goal. In all honesty, the game
was not the most entertaining game I have ever seen.
As the game wore on I kept poking to my Ugandan friend,
Steven, to show him how the tension in the Yellow
Nation’s (Sundowns supporters’) stand was increasing as the game wore in. The
worst was yet to come.
The game ended 2-0 in favour of the home team. The coaches’ interviews were being done, while
in the background, the traveling band of Mamelodi Sundowns supporters was busy devising
a way of breaking down the fence on the east side of the stadium.
As I was seated in the main grand stand with fellow Moroka Swallows
supporters, things didn’t look like they would get out of control.
Although I am not quite the best photographer in town, I managed to take a few snaps which tell the story better than I can. There was chaos. Steven was stunned.
Although I am not quite the best photographer in town, I managed to take a few snaps which tell the story better than I can. There was chaos. Steven was stunned.
Notice how some fans have pieces of what used to be a fence in the hands |
Downs fans even tipped over the coaches' dugout |
I think the violence lasted for about thirty minutes after the
final whistle. Supporters - kids and adults alike - were running wild all over
the Dobsonville stadium pitch, while the main group was causing trouble with
the police and security officials. They were outnumbered by the unruly
supporters and I wondered how badly this would end – we have all seen civilians
shot for causing far less trouble without directly attacking the police.
Alex Tshakaone managed to escape unscathed into the tunnel
after he decided t make a run for it when it began to seem clear that this time
the Yellow Nation was here to make a
statement and would not back down no matter which club official Sundowns sent
to try calm them down. The fans have
clearly had enough of coach Johan Neeskens. Few coaches manage to keep their job at the
helm one of the Big Three with a
record like that.
As I write this, I am pretty sure Neeskens will be relieved
of his duties tomorrow morning. The fans have been heard chanting Pitso
Mosimane’s name (yes, the very same Pitso that almost every soccer fan in South
Africa described as a “clueless coach” after his rather unsuccessful time as
national team coach).
This could be Pitso’s chance to return to the big time. However,
do not be surprised if Sundowns owner Patrice Motsepe whips out his cheque book
and buys out the contract of another Dutch coach – but only this time, a Dutch
coach who has actually enjoyed success in the Premier Soccer League.
If it isn’t obvious by now, I am referring to none other than
Ruud
Krol.
Watch this space.
Thomas Monyepao
I really don't get the culture of destroying property just because you are not happy with whatever is going-on in your heart. In this instance, all the teams that would be hosting their matches on this stadium would be affected even thought they have nothing to do with 'downs issues.
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