Thank you Bosso, thank you DeMbare
THE latest edition of the Battle of Zimbabwe did not end prematurely on Sunday, as was the case last year, when the country’s biggest league fixture was called off amid mayhem at Barbourfields.
We did not see an avalanche of missiles raining from the stands as was the case when hooligans hijacked the match and unleashed mayhem when Highlanders hosted Dynamos last year.
We did not see pitch invasions, as was the case last year, when the hooligans took matters into their hands and attacked anything they perceived to be a target, including the police officers on duty.
Instead, on Sunday we saw the best of this flagship fixture — a big crowd, some fine football, especially from the home side and three goals, including a wonder opening strike.
Highlanders won the game and many analysts will suggest that is the reason that we didn’t see any violence on Sunday because the club, which the majority of the fans were backing, emerged as the winners.
They have been arguments that had the result been different and Dynamos had won the match, the chances that violence would have broken out were very high.
Well, it’s not for us to judge whether what they are saying is either wrong or right.
Having said that we have to say that genuine Highlanders fans know that their club cannot win all the matches they play and, at some point, they will have to lose, including losses recorded at home.
These are the fans who have been waiting patiently, for the last 18 years, for their favourite club to win the league.
Their fine reputation should not be soiled by the group of individuals who believe that Highlanders should never lose to Dynamos, especially in games which are played at Barbourfields.
We know that this is one defeat which comes with a severe dosage of pain but real fans know how to control their emotions and to respect Fair Play.
For us, what is important is that the game on Sunday passed without the ugly incidents that have become synonymous with Highlanders/
Dynamos clashes at Barbourfields.
We salute the police who went out of their way to spread the message of peace between the two groups of fans, ahead of the game, while supporters’ representatives also preached the gospel of peace.
We saw the road shows where the dominant message was a call for peace to prevail at Barbourfields and to let football be the winner.
Sport cannot survive in an environment where violence always rears its ugly head to settle certain scores.
It can drive away its sponsors, whose money provides the life blood for sport to remain alive and thrive, and without these sponsors sport gradually dies.
This whole week, the newspapers, television and radio stations will be discussing the players who scored and the coaches who battled for glory in that big tie.
That is what we want to read and here and not the names of the hooligans who would have been arrested after the mayhem.