Image: Sibongile Ngalwa
East London soccer fans could miss out on top-flight live football as a result of a pitch invasion by Chippa United fans at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane on Saturday.
After the final whistle blew in the PSL 2-2 draw between Chippa and Black Leopards, scores of excited fans, mostly young people, ran onto the pitch. No one was injured.
Staff and players from both teams were rushed to the tunnel as police and security guards shooed the fans off the field.
Speaking to the Dispatch on Sunday, Chippa COO Lukhanyo Mzizi said Saturday’s incident could influence the team against bringing big games to the metro in future.
“We know East London fans are usually relaxed and most fans know the rules of football. It was also not safe for the away team’s players. This is something we will address because if fans continue to do that then we will not be able to bring big games to East London again.
“The PSL does not like this and we will be going around various places to try and show our fans that this is not allowed. The players of the away club and staff were still on the pitch,” he said.
“It was a very good crowd considering the cold weather and a bit or rain during the day.
“We were not expecting such a big crowd but the people of Eastern Cape generally love football and they were supportive. Still, we cannot encourage the behaviour from the fans at the end of the game.”
-Lukhanyo Mzizi "
BCM spokesman Samkelo Ngwenya said: “We are going to draw from the experiences and in our postmortem analysis we will identify the gaps and rectify them together with the club’s security and the PSL. We condemn the behaviour of those who stormed the pitch and we will engage law enforcement agencies to ensure it is prevented.”
PSL spokesperson Luxolo September said they were waiting for a report from the match commissioner before making a decision on the matter.