×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Fans’ behaviour bleeding clubs

Opinion & Analysis
We have in recent weeks witnessed the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League heavily descending on clubs whose fans have been either riotous or invaded pitches soon after matches.

We have in recent weeks witnessed the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) heavily descending on clubs whose fans have been either riotous or invaded pitches soon after matches.

NewsDay Editorial

This is a positive development which will go a long way in ensuring our football is squeaky clean.

The PSL is applying the standing order which stipulates that any club whose fans enter the stadia ignoring the security zone must pay $8 000 in fines.

BancABC Sup8r winners Shabanie Mine had $8 000 deducted from their $120 000 purse after their fans, through excitement, invaded the pitch while celebrating their team’s success after almost a decade.

For throwing an assortment of objects during their clash against Dynamos, Caps United were fined a similar amount, while Dynamos themselves got the wrath of the law after match officials adjudged that some of their fans invaded the pitch after the Harare derby three weeks ago.

Dynamos won the match 1-0 courtesy of defender Oscar Machapa, who scored a beautiful goal in the first half of the match.

Towards the end of the match, Dynamos players — goalkeeper George Chigova and striker Clive Kawinga — employed time- wasting tactics.

Chigova frequently went down, while Kawinga, who had come in for Washington Pakamisa, appeared to feign injury at the corner flag.

Caps United also had penalty appeals waved away by the referee and their fans responded by throwing missiles onto the pitch ranging from cabbages, vegetables, plastic bottles and empty beer bottles. Goal-scorer Machapa was also hit by a missile as he prepared to take a throw-in for Dynamos.

Dynamos fans also invaded the pitch later on causing further commotion.

While we appreciate football is an emotional game, fans must desist from invading pitches for the safety of the same people that provide entertainment for them.

Fans must learn to celebrate whilst on their seats as happens all over the world.

The invasion of pitches endangers players because some of the time fans carry dangerous weapons into the stadia which they may use against certain players. Not all invaders will be celebrating. Players are also human beings and live in the same communities as their fans.

You never know, some of the fans might take this opportunity to strike at players whom they carry grudges against from the same communities they live in.

So we want to applaud the PSL for taking the bold decisions against clubs.

Clubs must take initiatives to educate their fans because their actions are bleeding resources from their already struggling institutions.