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The PSL’s silence on the ugly and violent scenes that erupted at Loftus Stadium on Saturday has been deafening.
By Thursday there had been no official word from the soccer league on whether they were taking any steps against the offenders.
For those not familiar with the happenings of that day, there were pictures and videos showing scuffles between hosts Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates’ security personnel at entrance gates and parking lots for the two teams’ buses.
Apparently even coach Pitso Mosimane complained about someone having occupied “my parking bay”.
Worse still, a fan, clad in full Sundowns’ regalia, stormed the pitch and attacked Pirates’ assistant coach Rulani Mokwena right on the club’s dugout.
No matter what Mokwena, a former member of the Sundowns’ technical team, might have done (there have been accusations that he made an ugly gesture towards Sundowns’ supporters), the fact that an unstable person can enter the pitch and get as far as the bench is worrisome.
What if he had a rudimentary weapon in the form of a vuvuzela or a makarapa? And this happened after the league recently announced a partnership with the SA Police Service. The question is: Where were the PSL security personnel and members of the police to prevent this incident?
The PSL and its disciplinary committee – which have become famous for handing out suspended sentences – must do some serious work on not only stamping out violence at stadiums but on introducing stringent preventative measures.
Mind you, we are still sitting with an unresolved issue of two football supporters who died in a stampede at the Soweto Derby in July last year.
A life lost at a stadium during a football match is one too many. The PSL must stamp out this scourge right now!
