Mavuso mayhem: Ban unruly fans
... WITH ASHMOND NZIMA
HERE we go again.
Should we continue wasting ink and airtime begging fans to behave at stadia? The answer is a no with a capital letter ‘N’.
After this past Sunday’s commotion in the MTN Premier League game, involving Manzini Sea Birds and Mbabane Highlanders, the country’s football is back in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. For starters, in the dying minutes of the game, Sea Birds scored the winner to make it 2-1.
It was a free-header and many concluded it was scored using the hand, with suggestions that it was a duplicate of the Diego Maradona 1986 World Cup strike which was later dubbed the ‘Hand of God’.
In all 13 league meetings, Sea Birds had never beaten Highlanders and a section of the latter’s loyalists did not take kindly to losing through what they dubbed a dubious goal.
From the moment it was scored, there was shoving and pushing by the entrance of the tunnels, as some of the supporters raced there in a bid to invade the pitch.
Situation
While play continued, it became clear that the situation would spiral out of control in no time and the worst fears were confirmed shortly after the game.
After on duty security personnel who included police officers tried to shield the referees, the fans who were as angry as a horse with an itchy nose kept forcing their way onto the field to get closer to referee; Mbongeni Shongwe.
When security was eventually overpowered by the relentless fans, all hell broke loose. The match officials led by Shongwe were left with one option - to run for cover.
Imagine what could have happened if Shongwe did not opt for the Usain Bolt-inspired sprint to the nearest police vehicle?
The crowd could have probably floored him with fists and kicks. A life could have been lost if it was not for the presence of the police officers.
Ugly scenes of violence continue to not only cost the teams in fines but bring football into disrepute. Never mind that it happens at a time when Eswatini football is now on the small screen through the SuperSport Magazine Show launched last month.
Assuming that the referee made a mistake, there was no justification for the behaviour of the unruly fans who masquerade as fans.
It was not a good advert for Eswatini football at all. Sadly, the team will be charged and bear the costs but it is high time the stadium representatives zoom in on the culprits through taking footage in the stadium.
The unruly fans should be banned from the stadiums.
But for a start, one of the home games involving the affected team should be played behind closed doors. FIFA Stadium Safety and Security Regulations should be invoked.
According to the regulations, the relevant authorities retain the right to impose a stadium ban or other sanctions on and take necessary legal action against any identified person(s) whose behaviour either inside the stadium or affects opposes a threat to the safety and security of the event or to other people.
For the club directors, it is grossly unfair to be ‘investing their money on violence’. These fines end up taking a lion’s share of the team’s monthly expenses.
The supporters committee mingle with these people and should work with club management to ensure that they are removed from stadiums.
As custodians of football, Eswatini Football Association should ensure that this embarrassing moment is never repeated.
With trending videos, this is one incident that cannot be swept under the carpet.
International media had already captured the incident by the early hours of yesterday.
These publications include South Africa’s Independent News (IOL) and FARPost. Two hours after being posted on YouTube, the video had about 200 views.
Here we are talking about a platform accessed by millions across the globe daily.
If we are serious about developing football, then we should walk the talk. The fans should feel the pinch to change their behaviour.