BATTLE LINES DRAWN
CUP FINAL: PSL HAVE NO SECURITY CONCERNS AS AJAX, SUNDOWNS FACE OFF
The coach being sent off has nothing to do with the impact on the game
Pitso Mosimane
That’s how you make your name, by winning a lucrative tournament.
Robin Ngalande
‘It is the first big incident in 10 years at a match’.
The Premier Soccer League has described Saturday’s incident in which a Kaizer Chiefs fan was killed at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium as a one-off and do not expect any problems at Saturday’s Nedbank Cup final between Ajax Cape Town and Mamelodi Sundowns at the same venue.
A man was shot dead as fans ran on to the pitch to celebrate following Kaizer Chiefs’ 2- 0 Absa Premiership win at Chippa United.
“It was basically a guy who was trying to rob a policeman of his gun,” said PSL chief operations officer Ronnie Schloss yesterday.
“It can happen in a shopping centre, it is happening all over South Africa. It is totally separate (from the football). Guys ran on to the pitch, and a criminal element saw a chance to get a policeman’s gun.
“It is the fi rst big incident of anything like this in 10 years at a soccer match. We don’t even have fights at the matches, you can ask the stadiums, it is easier to run soccer games than rugby games. I would say our fans are some of the best behaved in the world. Fans (of different teams) sit next to each other and there is hardly any confrontation.
“We actually don’t even have fences. In the old days the big stadiums had fences, now they don’t anymore.”
Schloss did admit that the PSL were looking into the pitch invasion that happened at the game. It is the second time in recent weeks that Chiefs fans have invaded the pitch, as they also did so after the side clinched the title by beating Polokwane City 4-1 at FNB Stadium.
“We are looking into it, we are waiting for a report from the security (in PE),” added Schloss.
“(But) we are 100% sure it won’t be the same on Saturday.”
Schloss added that the Nedbank Cup final was not sold out yet but “we are expecting a decent crowd, that area has a great passion for the game … and we have major entertainment laid on for spectators”.
Ajax do not traditionally have a particularly large fan base, while Sundowns have more fans, but the distance of travel to the stadium for both sets of fans could prove prohibitive in terms of numbers on Saturday. Hopefully many locals will be attracted by the prospect of a major cup final on their own turf.
It should certainly be a fascinating battle between two sides in search of their fi rst piece of silverware of the season. Sundowns lost their league title to Kaizer Chiefs and have not won a knockout trophy since 2008, a dreadful effort for a side with their financial resources.
Ajax coach Roger de Sa has done well to guide a young side into the cup final, and the Urban Warriors will be the underdogs as they seek a first knockout trophy since they won the 2008 Telkom Knockout.