THIS IS NOT FOOTBALL
THEugly face of South African football reared its monstrous countenance again over the weekend.
A seething, violent nastiness simmers beneath the surface of the sport, and negates the progress it has made over the past decade or so.
It contains the seeds to yet another local football disaster – and, if the game’s administrators are not careful, a catastrophe is not far off.
Inadequate security, hooligan behaviour, intolerance and the nonchalant response of football’s senior officials in dealing with the scourge have seen the troubles escalate over the past season or two.
On Saturday afternoon at the Cape Town Stadium in Green Point, Ajax Cape Town’s supporters, usually an accepting and loyal following, had had enough of the team’s poor performances, after a 5-1 humiliation by promoted University of Pretoria.
The team’s Dutch coach Maarten Stekelenburg (pictured) was in the firing line. Vicious verbal threats were spewed in his direction as well as a number of missiles. It made for a tense afternoon at the usually sedate Mother City venue.
Then, on Sunday afternoon, after Mamelodi Sundowns lost 2- 0 to Moroka Swallows, there were even bigger crowd problems. Sundowns supporters invaded the pitch and clashed with police and security personnel. According to reports, angry fans forced the security officials back and were determined to get into the dressing-room to get hold of Sundowns coach Johan Neeskens, who had to take evasive action and seek protection from the police. Last month, when Sundowns lost to Maritzburg United, there were similar scenes.
Orlando Pirates have also been in the spotlight this season for crowd trouble. The question, therefore, is: when is the Premier Soccer League ( PSL) going to take a firm stand against such vile behaviour?
Yes, fans have a right to be unhappy when the teams they support do not perform to expectation. Even Stekelenburg and Neeskens, in interviews afterwards, said they understood the anger and frustration of the fans.
But why is violence always the only retort South Africans have when things don’t go their way?
Well, just look in other spheres of life in this country, and you will realise that it’s simply a reflection of a deeper malaise that afflicts us as a society.