League’s wheels of justice turn too slowly to stop the rot

The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slow at the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and there’s a chance that by the time Kaizer Chiefs are hauled over the coals following the disgraceful actions of a section of their supporters at FNB Stadium on Saturday, my nine-year-old son could be preparing for his matric dance.

The above might sound like hyperbole, but it will be interesting to see how the PSL reacts after Chiefs fans threw an assortment of objects at beleaguered coach Steve Komphela and his players as they left the field after an embarrassing 3-0 home defeat to Chippa United.

Komphela and his players had to be escorted by police and security personnel as the missiles rained down from the stands. The match itself was poorly attended, as has been the case with most of Chiefs’ recent home matches, but the few who bothered to turn up certainly made their presence felt.

The ailing Chiefs used to be one of the most admired brands in Southern Africa but those days are seemingly long gone and they’ve become an average outfit at best, especially in the three seasons that Komphela has been at the helm.

They have not won a trophy in three seasons and the increasingly frustrated fans violently displayed their unhappiness with the coach and the club’s management, going as far as chanting Chiefs’ football manager Bobby Motaung’s name as tempers flared.

But the fans were not done and the police had to keep them from the gates of the FNB Stadium after the game as they waited for Komphela. For the record, Komphela has remained defiant in the face of the rejection and insisted that he will not succumb to the fans’ demands and quit the club.

But please don’t hold your breath, because the likelihood of Chiefs incurring the PSL’s wrath any time soon is about as preposterous as the idea of Robert Mugabe sitting on a rocking chair on his front porch and at peace with his successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, running Zimbabwe.

Hell, we’re still waiting for the book to be thrown at someone after a pitch invasion‚ ugly fights and stun grenades rocked the Mamelodi Sundowns-Orlando Pirates league match at Loftus stadium in February 2017.

The PSL match was delayed for an hour after Percy Tau’s 82nd-minute sixth goal sparked a pitch invasion first by Pirates’ fans‚ then those of Sundowns in response‚ resulting in fistfights‚ violence and injuries.

The players‚ coaching staff and benches of both sides sprinted to the safety of the changerooms.

After the PSL’s security officials were overwhelmed, a South African Police Service armoured vehicle drove onto the pitch and teargas and stun grenades were fired.

The match resumed after the delay and was completed with Sundowns winning 6-0 — but only after fans were treated for injuries by paramedics on the field.

You would think that the book would be thrown at someone, anybody, after such chaos. But things are not that simple in this part of the world.

This matter has dragged on for more than a year and we still don’t know if anyone will ever be made to pay for the disgraceful scenes at Loftus in 2017.

So what chance is there for a speedy resolution to the Chiefs matter when the chaos at Loftus is fast becoming a cold case?

Cristiano Ronaldo fans are a fascinating lot. And please note, I said Cristiano Ronaldo fans and not Real Madrid fans. There is a distinction.

Some of them nearly wet themselves with excitement after Ronaldo’s overhead kick goal against Juventus in the Champions League a few days ago.

Such was the excitement on social media that you would have sworn that no one had ever scored an overhead kick goal in the history of the game and Ronaldo had done the impossible.

Granted, it was a good goal, but please, many players around the world have executed the manoeuvre with less fanfare.

Hell, it’s worth remembering that Sibusiso “Rhee” Zuma scored a similar strike for FC Copenhagen against Brondby in 2001 long before the advent of social media.

You don’t have to take my word for it. Search YouTube for “Sibusiso Zuma bicycle kick” and take your pick of clips showing Rhee at the height of his powers.

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