TIME TO SORT OUT SEATING ARRANGEMENTS AT DERBY

EVENTS at the Soweto Derby this past weekend had me pondering whether it ’ s not about time the local football authorities re-looked at the seating arrangements for this big, hugely emotional match.

The final whistle which followed Kaizer Chiefs ’ penalty-shoot-out win over Orlando Pirates sparked a full-on riot in one section of FNB Stadium, with police called in to calm down the warring fans.

Supporters, clearly split along club lines, hit each other with missiles such as vuvuzelas, and others uprooted stadium seats and hurled them in one direction. Clueless security, some no doubt hired on the morning of the event, stood helpless not knowing how to handle the volatile situation.

About a dozen policemen eventually stepped in, calming the factions down, but not before some had suffered injuries. It could have been worse, like was the case a few months ago when a fan died after being hit by a stray bullet following a pitch invasion in Port Elizabeth.

That no one died at Saturday ’ s Telkom Knockout semifinal Soweto Derby is no reason to be lax. Saturday ’ s incident could easily have been avoided had the fans supporting rival teams been separated. I know past derbies like the one won by Pirates 3-1 the previous weekend went by without incidents of violence.

Still, the seating arrangement for this emotive match could be better.

In 2011, I was fortunate to attend the Manchester derby at Old Trafford. Manchester City were allocated just 3 000 tickets and their fans occupied a small portion of the stadium, as Man United numbered over 65 000. City fans were all crammed into a tiny stand and, at the end of the game – which their side won 6-1 – they celebrated

– peacefully in unison. Now, imagine if these 3 000 fans had been scattered all over Old Trafford. They would easily have upset home fans, potentially triggering violence.

Of course the fact that Old Trafford, and elsewhere in the world, seating arrangements are eased through season tickets is a big plus. In SA, we are still a long way from getting there, what with fans purchasing R150 tickets but arriving only to find someone with a R40 ticket has taken their seat.

For the derby, it ’ s about time that fans are separated according to the team they support. Chiefs fans could be allocated one end; Pirates another to avoid confrontation in case fans start mocking each other in the event of defeat, which I suspect may have been the case on Saturday. I agree that our Soweto Derby is unique, with the teams sharing sponsors and all, but clearly not all fans understand this.

You can imagine how a Barcelona fan, seated among a sea of Real Madrid's supporters in the Santiago Bernabéu, would be treated when loudly celebrating his team ’ s goal. But this does not happen at all because such a situation is avoided entirely. It ’ s about time the PSL do the same for the derby. They could issue differently coloured tickets for the Pirates section, and another code for the Chiefs side.