Stop the blame game and look in the mirror

WHEN the Kaizer Chiefs entourage bus moves into town, there’s always a whiff of expectancy, of winning ways. But when they lose, all hell breaks loose, as witnessed at the Moses Mabhida Stadium recently when fans went berserk, indulging in violence and acts of arson.

On display was South Africa’s uncensored football hooliganism – a repertoire of radiant violence and creative arsonists, galvanised and in top showroom form.

And the foreign media went into a feeding frenzy as a thirsty world waits to swallow any hyperbolic nectar.

It was a symbolic catharsis against coach Steve Komphela, who failed to secure victory for the Amakhosi. He is indeed lucky to have left the field alive!

The pitch invaders relentlessly and destructively tore everything apart.

This was barbarianism – even wild animals are more caring. There was total disregard for life or limb.

Now the post-mortems begin and everyone wants to play the blame game and no one wants to look in the mirror. The SAPS have been fingered as being ineffective in managing the event.

No wonder the Australian authorities have warned tourists that South Africa is a crime-infested holiday destination where one can expect little help from the local police.

Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates have a history of violent spill-overs and pitch-invasion in the annals of SA football as they command sell-out stadiums whenever they play. They have faithful and fervent supporters who follow them around like a shoal of pilot fish.

The training of police personnel and local security companies in the field of crowd-control offensives and non-aggressive combat techniques has now come under the spotlight. Perhaps we should have an elite Red Squad like the team put together in New Zealand for the 1981 Springbok Rugby Tour protests.

Soccer in South Africa is traditionally thought to be the black man’s feast, a tempting bouillabaisse of action and excellence. So it is ironic that a finalist in the Nedbank Cup, which will be played in Cape Town this weekend, is the Indian-owned Maritzburg United FC.

While this has been a dark day for SA soccer and the sponsors, it is hoped that the showpiece final will be much more propitious and deserving of the winner.