Sport Minister Ngconde Balfour condemned ugly scenes which marred the Coca-Cola final match between Jomo Cosmos and Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.
”What I’ve seen of people who are drunk getting into the field, I’m really disgusted,” Balfour, who was watching the game on television, said.
”Those that are drunk, and the one sitting on the line in the pitch should end up in jail today. The scenes today make me ashamed to even want to talk about getting more and more sport into the country.
”I do hope nobody was injured in that type of ugly scene,” the minister said in a television interview from Middlesdrift in the Eastern Cape.
Balfour asked what stopped Premier Soccer League chief executive officer Trevor Phillips and PSL chairman Leepile Taunyane from stopping the game.
”Protect the integrity of the players, protect the safety of the spectators,” fuming Balfour said, adding that on Sunday he would convene an urgent meeting with the PSL and the SA Football Association.
”We must come out with a statement on this on Monday,” said Balfour.
Phillips said in the same interview: ”I can’t have a situation when every time Chiefs are about to lose a game their fans can call that game off.
”You just can’t afford to abandon the game at the whims of the fans. It’s a touchy decision,” Phillips said.
Cosmos, who were humiliated by Chiefs in the same competition last year, were leading Amakhosi by 1-0 and only four minutes of extra time were remaining before the game ended.
Chiefs supporters threw missiles into the pitch, effectively stopping the game for more than 25 minutes. One spectator was seen on TV being dragged to the side of the field by security personnel.
Cosmos were finally crowned champions of the competition after Phillips and referee Daniel Bennett allowed the game to continue. Cosmos won R2-million for the first prize.
This week, PSL manager Bafana Dlamini said there would be 938 security guards to ensure the safety of the fans, but it remained unclear how one spectator invaded security to end up in the pitch.
After the game, Balfour released a statement saying how can South Africa stage big international events like the World Cup if ”we have such chaos at our local matches”.
He said: ”How can we hope to stage major international events if we have such chaos at our local matches.
”We are putting the lives of tens of thousands of spectators at risk.
”The Ellis Park disaster is still fresh in our minds and I will ensure that strong measures are put in place through legislation to address such loutish behaviour,” he said in the statement.
Balfour said those responsible for organising official games should be held accountable. – Sapa