/ 17 February 2017

Tough love needed to save PSL

Orlando Pirates fans vent their anger during the 6-0 defeat by Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versveld. Pirates boss Irvin Khoza has said the ‘law must take its course’ but also that a new coach will be announced on Monday.
Orlando Pirates fans vent their anger during the 6-0 defeat by Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versveld. Pirates boss Irvin Khoza has said the ‘law must take its course’ but also that a new coach will be announced on Monday.

The chairperson of the Premier Soccer League (PSL), Dr Irvin Khoza, who also happens to be chairperson of beleaguered Orlando Pirates, finds himself in an unenviable position: he has to take off one of his hats and deliberate on the appropriate action to be taken against his Soweto side.

There is no doubt that Pirates brought the image of the PSL into disrepute when their fans turned into hooligans and uprooted stadium seats, hurling them on to the pitch soon after Mamelodi Sundowns scored their sixth goal in a 6-0 rout at Pretoria’s Loftus stadium last week.

Looking back, it’s clear that Pirates, Sundowns and the PSL must share the blame for the chaotic scenes, which have received huge coverage locally and in international media.

Pirates supporters have been identified by their attire as the culprits behind the mayhem. But Sundowns were the hosts and
the PSL badly dropped the ball when they mysteriously classed the match a “category B” fixture when it was supposed to have been “category A” – no matter that Pirates were going through a bad patch, having failed to gain a single victory since November last year.

The security personnel at the venue appeared ill-equipped to handle the volatile situation. Even worse is that when irate Pirates supporters invaded the pitch, some of the security officials ran for cover, only coming back much later after they had recovered their composure.

Sundowns can argue that it was not their supporters who ripped up chairs and television cables, forcing the match to be suspended. But it is also true that, as the home team, Sundowns should shoulder some of the blame for failing to provide enough security personnel for the match.

An aggrieved Khoza was at pains to say that, no matter how disappointed the fans were, behaving violently served only to defeat the legitimacy of their grievances.

“I pronounce here today that the club’s unequivocal – clear‚ plain and unambiguous – position is for the law to take its course,” said Khoza during a media briefing this week.

“In our democracy, there is a specific law‚ governed by an Act‚ Sasrea – the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act. I commit that this matter will receive the highest priority in accordance with the law,” he said.

“A failure to do so will result in a deterioration that will affect the following of football‚ the sponsors‚ the broadcasters and the public in ways that will erode the gains we have made and should defend bitterly.”

Certainly, failure to deal harshly with the perpetrators of last week’s mayhem will discourage many supporters from attending future PSL matches, at a time when the football body is struggling to attract spectators.

Perhaps South Africa needs to adopt the measures taken by the British, who were at one stage plagued by a growing hooliganism problem. The United Kingdom introduced radical measures to identify, ban and even jail some of the known hooligans. Today, English Premier League matches have become family events.

Some diehard Pirates supporters may like us to believe the chaos was justified, because it has jolted management into announcing that a new coach would be appointed on Monday. But this still does not make the Pirates supporters’ violent actions acceptable.

When Muhsin Ertugral resigned in November last year – ironically, after Pirates lost 6-1 to SuperSport United – Pirates appointed Augusto Palacios on a caretaker basis while the team searched for a suitable candidate to take over the reins as coach.

Although Palacios appeared to steady the ship, it was clear that there were deep-rooted problems, which Khoza has acknowledged. The team seemed to have lost its identity and direction without powerful characters such as the now retired Lucky Lekgwathi, who could have provided leadership in times of trouble.

Palacios looked out of his depth after Saturday’s loss. When Pirates face Cape Town City at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, it will in all likelihood be his last time in charge.

Polokwane City coach Luc Eymael is the name doing the rounds as the man likely to be unveiled on Monday as the new Pirates coach.

Eymael was brought to South Africa by Khoza three years ago but the two could not reach an agreement.

After turning unfashionable Polokwane City into a formidable outfit in a short space of time, it seems he has become the flavour of the month down Parktown way.