ESWATINI FOOTBALL’S ‘STATE OF EMERGENCY’

It is becoming difficult not to mention Eswatini football and drama in the same sentence.

For the umpteenth time in less than two months, an unwanted picture of Eswatini football was painted across different venues. The incidents making a mockery of Eswatini football were undoubtedly headlined by the commotion at Mavuso Sports Centre two days ago.  For the uninitiated, referees led by middleman Thulani Sibandze had to be escorted to the exit located at the far end of the stadium to avoid an attack from raging soccer fans who would have probably rearranged their faces. The violence stretched to the exit, with a heated exchange of words between Highlanders and Buffaloes fans. It did not end there. The bus ferrying some of the Buffaloes’ fans was pelted with all sorts of missiles on top of being soaked with liquids believed to be alcoholic beverages.

The bone of contention was a decision by the first assistant referee, Banele Thwala, to flag for an offside when Mbabane Highlanders gifted midfielder Philani Mkhonto scored with a diving header deep into stoppage time. It was a very tight angle and the offside appeared marginal. It was a mystery that could have been solved by the presence of a video assistant referee (VAR), which remains a distant dream for Eswatini. Here we go again. Referees and fans are in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Concern

However, it is the latter’s behaviour that is a cause for concern. They demand that things be done their way or else they fight.  Two things should sink deep into the fan’s skulls. Firstly, a referee’s decision is final. Secondly, resorting to violence is not a solution to poor refereeing. Referees’ decision leaves much to be desired at some point, but it is no excuse for resorting to violence. Having deliberated extensively on the issue of violence late last year, repeating what should be done can be a waste of ink. If the referees are at fault for the latest incident, the national referees committee knows what to do based on the resolutions taken in a joint meeting with football stakeholders early last month. Then Highlanders, who played a game behind closed doors on top of a E70 000 fine for the Sea Birds incident last time, have to sadly suffer the consequences again. The punishment, as per the Article 10.11 rules, will be harsher this time around. Repeat offenders pay double the fine on top of forfeiting points. There can only mitigate for a lesser sentence if they have made a considerable effort to engage the fans after last year’s incident.

However, there is another elephant in the room that should be confronted. Staging big games at Mavuso Sports Centre is becoming a huge danger. This is a constant reminder to open the Somhlolo National Stadium, especially for the big games. The excuse that the national stadium has been closed for renovations is unacceptable. The timing was bad because it was closed shortly after the synthetic track got damaged by a bus purportedly belonging to Highlanders during the MoMo Cup last October. There is too much coincidence to suggest that the close of the venue could be a political decision. Should all teams and by extension football suffer because of one team? The answer is a big no. It was earlier reported that the venue was now open for public use and renovations would continue on the side. Less than a month after that statement, the venue got closed.

Hastily

So the need to hastily open Somhlolo cannot be overstated. Outside the unnecessary drama at Mavuso Sports Centre, there were two games under the auspices of the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) that got cancelled due to lack of an ambulance and they were headlined by the Sea Birds and Madlenya clash. In the National First Division, the game between Milling Hot Spurs and Ubombo Flyers suffered the same fate. Yes, you heard it right; these are PLE games. Already there are calls for a football indaba to cure the ills afflicting the game. Based on the ‘state of emergency’ that has been created, it is not a bad idea. Surely, things cannot go on like this. The PLE, in the meantime, should ensure that there is a pre-match for every game. This thing of waiting for ambulances that never arrive should never happen. It is better for a game to be postponed for safety concern than this circus. A repeated mistake is a decision. We do believe no one has taken a decision to send the game to the dogs.

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