All hell breaks loose at Alex match
ALEXANDRA - Pitch invasions are fast becoming a common feature of the beautiful game in Alex.
All hell broke loose at the end of the Alexandra Northrand Local Football Association Year-End Seniors Tournament semi-final match between Alex SAB League rivals Gauteng FC and Setheo FC.
Supporters of Setheo invaded the pitch at the end of the game after they were aggrieved by what they perceived as bad refereeing. They believed that the referee cost them a final berth in the tournament and the possibility of winning the R100 000 at stake for the winners.
At the centre of Setheo’s grievance was what they described as a ‘dubious penalty’ awarded to Gauteng which saw them going on to win 2–1 after Setheo had scored a late consolation goal.
The secretary-general of the association Mafika Morajane had to intervene to try and restore sanity to a volatile situation when Setheo supporters invaded the pitch. Morajane told the angry supporters that beating up the referee would not solve their grievances. “We need to sit down and address your perceived shortcomings in the refereeing of the match after gathering all the facts and issues around the game,” he said.
But this did not stop the supporters from roughing up the referee and hurling abuse at him. He had to be escorted to the dressing room by security personnel and Morajane.
Setheo coach Tshepo Mashatola said there was poor refereeing coupled with bad decisions.
“I am angry at what I have again witnessed here today,” he said. ”
“We get this week in week out from the referees and I have come to believe maybe they don’t like the team. Maybe the people of Alexandra don’t like us,” he said of the team that comes from the area of 18th Avenue in Alex.
Despite all the chaos, Gauteng coach Sihle ‘uMapholoba’ Ngcobo was over the moon about his team’s semi-final berth.
The two teams met last year in the same competition in the semi-finals with Setheo winning but they went on to lose in the final to Dra FC.
“It was by the will of the Almighty that the two teams met again at the same stage of the same competition, and this time we came out smoking,” he said.
Incidentally, the two teams will meet again on 14 December for a SAB League derby and this controversial game was said to be just a dress rehearsal as more fireworks on the pitch could be expected as the rivalry deepens.
