Cape Town - It was meant to be an occasion to savour: the mighty Kaizer Chiefs rolling into Stellenbosch for the first time. South African football royalty playing in the country’s traditional rugby haven …
Sunday’s MTN8 quarter-final was a momentous moment as a match involving Amakhosi is so much more than a football contest.
The game certainly lived up to its billing, with a dramatic penalty shootout proving to be the deciding factor.
Chiefs fans are a blaze of colour, headgear and vuvuzelas. A sea of gold and black envelopes every stadium, and a cacophony of noise erupts from the time the players emerge from the tunnel until the final whistle.
I’ve been fortunate enough to experience some of the most frenzied atmospheres in international sport. A cricket match between India and Pakistan gets all the hair on your body standing straight up.
But hearing “Khune, Khune, Khune” reverberate around the ground with every single Chiefs fan on his or her feet is spine-tingling.
But unfortunately, for all of Chiefs’ motto of ‘Love and Peace’, there is a minority of supporters that fall foul of hooliganism.
There is simply no other way to explain the pre-match vandalism that caused kick-off to be delayed by 30 minutes.
Spectators climbing over turnstiles, pushing down barriers and breaking windows is not how the beautiful game should be portrayed.
There is much to be said about whether there were sufficient traffic officials, security and stadium capacity to regulate the expected numbers, but that does not excuse the behaviour of a certain section of Chiefs supporters.
This is a club that has experienced major tragedies before. Nobody needs reminding of Ellis Park 2001, when 43 fans lost their lives in a stampede during the Soweto Derby.
And it is for this reason that Chiefs’ silence on the crowd’s behaviour on Sunday is appalling.
This is a club that spends millions of rands on marketing and public relations. But since Sunday there has not been a single press release or statement from anyone involved at Naturena condemning the behaviour of their supporters.
The post-match press conference with coach Arthur Zwane was restricted to under three minutes, due to Chiefs having to rush to Cape Town International Airport to catch an 8pm flight back to Johannesburg.
PENALTY SHOOTOUT - We have penalties at the Danie Craven Stadium. @IOLsport #MTN8 #WafaWafa pic.twitter.com/qX1DoxDhLp
— Zaahier Adams (@ZaahierAdams) August 28, 2022
Zwane offered a summary of the game and fielded one question about goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune’s heroics, and no mention was made of the crowd disturbances.
They could take their cue from Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who immediately apologised on behalf of the Merseyside club when Reds supporters smashed the Manchester United bus en route to a Premier League clash last year.
Stellenbosch FC, who are owned by the Stellenbosch Academy Of Sport – a subsidiary of Remgro, which is headed by local billionaire Johann Rupert – have done tremendous work at the university and among the influential people within the local community to grow the sport of football.
The incidents of Sunday should not derail the progress Rob Benadie and his team have made. It is worthwhile to note that Stellies have released an official statement detailing the events.
@ZaahierAdams