The Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation has resolved to invite the Premier Soccer League (PSL) for further clarity on the incident that occurred at the Moses Mabhida stadium on Saturday.
The committee Chairperson, Ms Beauty Dlulane, said the committee will consider visiting the stadium before repairs are done, but that will be subject to the parliamentary approval and the committee programme. “It is critical that the committee decides collectively on the way forward regarding this matter. We accept that clubs do not ask fans to be hooligans, but the committee will ensure it plays its oversight role,” Ms Dlulane said.
She said it seemed that stakeholders did not plan together for big games, and that the security used seemed to lack crowd control expertise. Kaizer Chiefs supporters invaded the Moses Mabhida pitch on Saturday following their club’s 2-0 loss to Free State Stars. Although the anger was initially directed at the coaching team, it quickly degenerated into vandalism and destruction of property.
Committee member Ntshayisa said the issue of safety at stadiums should not be the responsibility of individual fans. “It should start with the clubs, it is their responsibility to workshop fans on match days and show them how to behave. Frustration over a loss should not lead to anger and destruction,” Mr Ntshayisa said.
He said also in the build up to games, management of clubs must not make statements that have a potential to incite violence or irritate the spectators.
Committee member Mr Mncedisi Filtane concurred and said the pending investigations need to be clear on who is responsible for what at big matches.
“We don’t want to apportion blame to wrong people. The responsible person needs to make the necessary arrangement in future,” he said.
Mr Filtane said there are other possible underlying reasons for the violence as people he had spoken to indicated that betting on these games was a factor. He proposed that the committee meets jointly with the Portfolio Committee on Police as the SAPS was fingered as having not deployed adequately on the day.
Committee member Mr Siphiwe Mabika agreed and said that if they are not addressed speedily, issues of stadium violence will become frequent.
By Sibongile Maputi
24 April 2018
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