A call has been made to football fans who misbehave at the stadiums to refrain from doing so following last weekend's Soweto Derby.
After the 3-2 win for Orlando Pirates over arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday, some sections of the supporters who appeared to be in Chiefs' regalia threw missiles, and the police had to intervene to ensure that no one got hurt.
However, Chiefs' interim coach Cavin Johnson said he did not see any incident of missile throwing as he focused on other things that needed his attention after the final whistle.
PSL's prosecutor Zola Majavu is likely to charge those found guilty for bringing the league into disrepute.
Prominent Chiefs supporter Masilo Machaka, who was impressed with how both sets of players performed in the derby, has reminded the fans on the importance of behaving appropriately at the stadiums.
The Good
"I concur with those who say we haven't seen such a performance in a derby in a long time and thanks to everyone who has been involved. I had a smile on my face watching this last derby because of the performance and I was happy that the players gave the supporters what they really want in these kinds of games. Even president Cyril Ramaphosa was there, and I think it has been a while since we last saw him at the stadium to watch a game. It shows that a derby is the kind of a game that can bring everybody together, including athletes from the different sporting codes. We always look forward to this game and I saw people from as far as Gugulethu, Durban, Limpopo and all over the country at the stadium. There were supporters from even as far as Botswana and Swaziland," said Machaka, speaking exclusively to the Siya crew.
The Bad
"To me, there's a spark that was lost in the most recent derbies, especially when you look at the players that have been signed that have struggled to make it interesting. I'm not talking about players just from the side of Kaizer Chiefs but I'm talking from Pirates as well. It has always been like in a romantic relationship when those involved are still cuddling. It seemed as if there was no rivalry among the players or that they simply didn't respect the badges of both clubs. I used to feel for the supporters because they are the people who go to the stadium in anticipation of a great game and only to be disappointed. Just imagine going to FNB Stadium with so much enthusiasm and only to be disappointed by a goalless Soweto Derby result. In some of the derbies, you could tell even with ticket sales that people were not as enthusiastic as before as they would get finished on the day of the game," he said.
The Ugly
On the supporters' misbehaviour
"They know what the game of football is all about but I don't understand why they reacted in the manner they did. I was surprised because I didn't think that it would get there. I didn't see it when it happened but when I watched on TV and saw the pictures, I was asking myself questions as to where that came from. I didn't understand as to why the supporters threw missiles on the field of play after we had just watched a very good game of football. Yes, we were sad that we lost to Pirates but that didn't warrant such behaviour from the supporters. They should remember that a lot of people are always watching that game around the African continent and the world and those actions are not condoned. Children and elderly people should feel safe at our stadiums and that's the kind of message we are trying to send," added Machaka.
"Chiefs is not better than Pirates"
"Going into the game, I knew that my team doesn't have the same quality as Pirates in terms of the players and I even mentioned this to people I spoke to before the game. Pirates last looked superior to us in terms of their style of play for some time. I watched my team against the likes of Milford FC and Moroka Swallows compared to Pirates' most recent games and you can see the difference in quality. Chiefs is not better than Pirates and I have said this before," concluded Masilo.
How should the PSL deal with misbehaving supporters at the stadiums?
