SANCO calls for lifetime ban of those responsible for Moses Mabhida Stadium violence
23 April 2018
The South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) has called for a lifetime ban for the supporters who took to the field on Saturday at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban where property was damaged and a security guard was severely assaulted.
The game between Kaizer Chiefs and Free State Stars descended into chaos when fans invaded the pitch following the Kaizer Chiefs' 2-0 loss during a Nedbank Cup semi-final.
SANCO national spokesperson Jabu Mahlangu called on authorities to identify and ban those responsible.
"The culture of violence and hooliganism at sporting events must be nipped in the bud through harsh action and criminal charges against those responsible for the abhorrent behaviour," he said.
Mahlangu urged the Premier Soccer League (PSL) to consider facial recognition technology to identify unruly and violent fans.
He said stadium management and security had to anticipate the possibility of pitch invasions as well as post-match violence and take proactive steps to prevent them.
More calls for banning
"Our review of video footage suggests that security was lax, caught off-guard and uncoordinated in its response, resulting in injuries, damage to television broadcast equipment, all of which could have been prevented," he said.
Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation also condemned the incident.
The committee's chairperson, Beauty Dlulane, said the behaviour was appalling and unacceptable.
"This type of behaviour will not be tolerated. Those who inflicted such violence and chaos must be brought to justice and banned from attending future sporting events," she said.
Moses Mabhida Stadium management said it would comment on the incident later on Monday following a press conference by the PSL about the events.
