I’ve had enough of these senseless acts of violence and disturbing behaviour by fans at football stadiums.
Diski is supposed to be a family occasion, which means it is supposed to be friendly to even the vulnerable and those living with a disability.
Sunday’s MTN8 first leg semifinal match between Stellies and Orlando Pirates at Athlone Stadium was supposed to be another great advert of what this city is capable of when all hands are on deck.
There was a presence from senior City of Cape Town officials from the events, logistics and security departments there, SAPS, Metro and Traffic officials everywhere. There were even added numbers to the stadium’s very own security as well.
Orlando Pirates snatch a late winner to walk away as 2️⃣-1️⃣ victors at Athlone Stadium. pic.twitter.com/on6NBR4HBQ
— Stellenbosch FC (@StellenboschFC) September 3, 2023
While everything was set out right for the match to happen smoothly, fans instead found ways to still create more problems for the officials and put other lives in danger.
There was overcrowding from people who arrived late and forced their way into the stadium, while some even bribed stadium security.
This all resulted in many pockets of incidents happening all over the stadium during the match.
Thank goodness there was a plan made, with the day’s stadium capacity capped at 22 000 instead of the true 24 000 that can be accommodated inside Athlone.
I personally witnessed some really serious and concerning scenes, such as one of the stadium suppliers being robbed of the supplies he was delivering and the money he had on him.
All this happened inside of the stadium premises, between leaving his vehicle and the gate designated for suppliers and broadcasters.
He was still bleeding and desperately pointing behind him as he ran to where he was meant to deliver the supplies.
Then there was the pitch invader who was quickly caught by security and might now have to spend time in jail. Another fan jumped over the fencing and started dancing on top of the roof where the sound guys were seated.
There was just chaos everywhere with every fan trying to push as to feel as close as possible to being heard and acknowledged by the players.
Another thing is that I don’t know when fans are going to finally realise that the seats at stadiums are for them to sit on. There’s really no reason to stand around, you can see the match perfectly fine sitting down.
And the space between the seats and the fence is for movement and must be cleared for this reason as well as for safety and emergencies.
By standing there, you’re endangering your whole area, and blocking the view of those seated behind you. Now they will have to stand, next thing nobody’s sitting but standing on chairs instead.
I don’t even want to get into what was going on outside, there was just so much unnecessary aggression from drunk fans.
We even had an incident of a 12-year-old young girl that was left stranded, drunk and couldn’t put together a full sentence to help the police and City officials get her home.
Now who wants to be around all that? Especially with kids! Nobody would want to put their children in danger and expose them to such behaviour.
Let’s use this international break to reflect and come back refreshed to move forward.