Alleged soccer hooligans ready to plead guilty

Trio out on bail, barred from attending games

Three alleged soccer hooligans nabbed in the wake of a pitch invasion at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban two weeks ago have signalled they are set to plead guilty.

The trio – arrested on Monday – appeared in the Durban Regional Court yesterday. They face charges of public violence and pitch invasion relating to chaos at the Nedbank Cup semifinal match between Kaizer Chiefs and Free State Stars last month.

Their cases will be joined with that of Phelelani Jojisa‚ who was detained at the game.

The court heard that Siphosenkosi Memela‚ a truck driver from Savannah Park‚ was caught on camera damaging high-tech camera equipment owned by SuperSport.

John Sibongiseni Khumalo‚ a taxi rank manager‚ had been spotted pretending to film the bedlam. The third accused in the matter‚ taxi driver Khwezilomo Madiba‚ is alleged to have kicked a security guard in the face as the man crawled on the pitch‚ surrounded by a mob.

The three suspects‚ via their attorneys‚ told Magistrate Mohamed Motala that they all intended to plead guilty.

Motala said their alleged actions had brought shame on the sport of soccer.

“While pretending to take selfies on a SuperSport camera may be humorous‚ this matter is extremely serious. The whole world was watching us that night‚” he said.

He ordered that the three be released on bail of R1 000 each‚ on condition that they return to court on May 25.

The magistrate barred them from attending any sporting fixture or recreational gathering until the finalisation of their court case.

The violence at the stadium erupted after Chiefs lost to Stars.

Police and stadium security were overrun as fans invaded the pitch at the end of the game‚ heading directly for embattled Chiefs coach Steve Komphela‚ who quit immediately after the game.

‘‘ While pretending to take selfies on TV cameras may be humorous, this matter is serious