OWN CORRESPONDENT, Vosloorus | Sunday
South African soccer hung its head in shame yesterday as crowd violence forced the final of the African Women’s Championship to be abandoned.
Three people were injured and were admitted to the nearby Natalspruit Hospital, in Katlehong on the East Rand.
Violence erupted just after the Nigerians had scored their second goal which according to the local fans, should not have been allowed because a Nigerian player was lying in Banyana Banyana’s goal area.
This made it difficult for SA’s defenders to defend because they had had to avoid her and in the process, a goal was scored by the visitors.
Members of the SA Police Services were on the scene attempting to restore order.
Nigeria’s Super Falcons were awarded the game thanks to the two goals they scored against Banyana Banyana in the first 75 minutes of play.
Angry fans pelted the Nigerian goalkeeper, Ann Chiejine, and assistant referee Pamela Ochieng, of Kenya, with bottles, stones and bricks.
Three attempts to restart the game failed when players were repeatedly hit by objects thrown from the stands.
Several fans were thought to have been injured in a crush of spectators who fled from the violence. Cars outside the ground had their windows smashed.
Security at the ground was not tight, and the small police contingent present seemed unable to curb the trouble. Riot police arrived later and fired teargas into the crowd – but it was too late.
The South African captain, Desiree Ellis, and Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa appealed for calm but were ignored by the crowd.
Banyana Banyana’s coach, Fran Hilton-Smith, told The Sunday Times: “This is very unfortunate and sad. It has messed up everything.”
The head coach, Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba, said: “I am very disappointed. I don’t know what to say. I am shattered.”
Shilowa said: “We don’t need this in South Africa. It is bad for the country, bad for football.”
Shilowa went onto the pitch to implore the fans to settle down. “I told them we owed it to Banyana,” he said.