S. African public urged to identify football hooligans in pitch invasion

CAPE TOWN, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The South African Football Association (SAFA) urged the public on Monday to identify the hooligans involved in a violent pitch invasion that left 18 people injured.

The hooligans should be arrested and appropriately charged as soon as possible, the SAFA said.

A match on Saturday night between Kaizer Chiefs and Free State Stars concluded with a serious pitch invasion resulting in injuries and damage at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in the eastern coastal city of Durban.

Chaos erupted at the venue after angry fans invaded the pitch following the Kaizer Chiefs' 2-0 loss to the Free State Stars, dumping the Chiefs out of the Nedbank Cup. The fans attacked security guards and burned property at the stadium, injuring 18 people.

Police had to use teargas and stun grenades to disperse the fans.

The riot did extensive damage to the stadium including seating, crowd barriers and access gates as well as general vandalism, the Moses Mabhida Stadium Management said.

Five vehicles were also damaged in the media compound parking area.

A video footage showing the violent scenes went viral on social media.

SAFA condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the senseless violence.

"For far too long, perpetrators of violence at football matches have not been held accountable for their actions, and this needs to stop," the association said.

Events like this damage the brand of the sport, create a negative perspective and defeat the purposes of going to football matches for entertainment, SAFA said.

It said safety and the protection of fans, players, match officials, the media, service providers and everyone involved with the game are of paramount importance and should be guaranteed.

"On our part as the football governing body, we will engage with the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and government authorities to get to the bottom of the matter and to come up with lasting solutions to prevent such incidents from happening again," SAFA said.

Also on Monday, the parliament's Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation expressed its horror at the violence.

Sport has a history of bringing together people of different communities and cultural backgrounds, but the behavior displayed by fans during local soccer events especially, has been appalling and unacceptable, said the committee.

Committee chairperson Beauty Dlulane said: "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." Enditem