The chairman of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) Dr Irvin Khoza has responded to Saturday’s fan violence and is looking to distance the league from blame, writes DEAN WORKMAN.
Kaizer Chiefs supporters stormed the pitch after their 2-0 defeat at the hands of Free State Stars in the Nedbank Cup semi-final hosted at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
The disgruntled fans proceeded to burn sections of the stadium, damage broadcast equipment and attack security guards. The images that have emerged from the events on Saturday evening have rocked the country.
After much outcry on social media, the PSL and its chairman responded at a press conference on Monday afternoon at the PSL headquarters.
‘The league is shocked and extremely concerned about the acts of violence and serious criminality that occurred at the final whistle of the game between Kaizer Chiefs and Free State Stars.
‘From the outside, I want to make it loud and clear that there is no place and no justification for violence in football, or in our society. The damage that these senseless acts of violence causes takes more than a generation to correct.
‘We have called this media conference to publicly apologise and bring all the stakeholders up to date on the events that happened in and around Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
‘Condemnation by ways alone is not enough. Action, both preventative and remedial, is crucial. From the PSL side, we want you to know that these acts happen at a time where we are in discussion with political parties and executive branches of government with a view to forge an understanding by the law and policy makers for our business and its contribution towards the economy and the challenges we face.
‘Key amongst the challenges we face is the security at matches, as regulated by the Safety at Sports and Recreation Act of 2010. The league takes safety very seriously.
‘At this juncture, it would be premature of me to comment in detail on the events on Saturday night, including the reasons for it. From the league’s perspective, there will be an investigation into the events at Moses Mabhida Stadium, including the events leading up to it.’
Khoza then proceeded to point out the regulations that are currently in place, which requires an appointed authorised member of the SAPS, in a position of captain or higher, to regulate safety around the match. This individual has to call a security meeting for high-risk events to discuss a plan around security for the event.
‘After that meeting, the plan is then going to be implemented on the day, in what gives rise to what we call a “voke”. The voke is all the stakeholders which participate in making sure the event takes place, it’s the disaster management, the traffic planning, the organisers, the sponsors – everyone forms part of that voke.
‘What has happened is that when there are issues like Saturday, the authority lies with the voke commander [SAPS official]. The voke commander is the only person who can instruct deployment when an event of this nature happens. If that voke commander has not instructed it, nobody can move to intervene [when violence takes place].’
Khoza then revealed that the appointed SAPS member did not come on 17 April when the planning had to take place, and only came on the day of the game.
‘How can you implement something that you have not planned?’ asked the chairman.
More is likely to come from this story as the investigation and inquiries get under way.
Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
