Caps United could face the wrath of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) Disciplinary Committee if found guilty of providing inadequate security during their 1-0 loss to Dynamos in the Harare derby at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
Dynamos, on the other hand, saw their fans invade the pitch immediately after the final whistle, just moments after their team had scored the winner through Tawanda Muparati.
Dynamos striker Martin Vengesayi was shown the red card, but was on the field of play after Muparati scored the winner, an event that can invite sanctions since the game had not ended.
A player given a red card leaves the pitch immediately and does not take part in any proceedings until the match ends, hence the phrase “early shower”.
More than 28 000 fans watched the match, but thousands others entered the match venue for free after 26 gates out of 35 were opened for the big match. As hosts, Caps United were in charge of all proceedings on the day.
Fans pushed and shoved to gain entry, scaling the tall fence while others pushed the few policemen in attendance at gate five to gain entry.
Caps United made $89 000 from the match, which will be gobbled up by service charges and they could have made more had all gates been opened on time.
Pictures carried by this publication and the Southern Edition of NewsDay on Monday and Tuesday showed fans, including women, scaling the fence to gain entry, a situation which could easily have turned nasty had the fans become rowdy since the police were outnumbered. Zifa vice-president Kenny Marange had to actually ask for the start of the match to be delayed to accommodate the fans that were still outside by kick-off at 3pm in a bid to salvage the situation — but that was turned down. Referee, Pascal Zata, was expected to submit his match report on Tuesday.
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PSL chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele would not comment on the matter before receiving the referee and commissioner’s reports.
“. . . we will punish whoever is found guilty for failing to provide adequate security and we will stand guided by the referee’s report on the pitch invasion that followed immediately after the match,” Ndebele said on Tuesday.
The invasion, which could not have easily been stopped since it was due to the ecstasy of the Dynamos fans and the small number of police officers available, could easily have endangered the lives of players.
Meanwhile, things are calm at Caps United following the loss and they will seek to appease their fans on Sunday when they face Highlanders in the quarter-finals of the BancABC Sup8r at Baghdad in Kwekwe.
