The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was a sight to behold on Friday night, packed to near capacity with about 35,000 fans who came out to show their support for Bafana Bafana in their Afcon qualifier match against Congo.
The energy was electric and the mood jovial, especially as Bafana Bafana scored an eye-watering 5-0 against their opponents.
However, it was not all good news, as the referee stopped the match for about 20 minutes when fans invaded the pitch for the second time after Teboho Mokoena scored his second goal to give Bafana Bafana a 2-0 lead.
Congo players left the field due to safety concerns, putting a damper on the game and raising serious questions about the security preparations ahead of the match.
Though security was later beefed up, it happened only after the second pitch invasion and when the Congo team had already walked off the field.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos tore into the South African Football Association (Safa) for the shambolic security arrangements.
“I was very happy to see the crowd when I came in but I was not so happy after 20 minutes because we could have stopped the game and that could have been a disaster,” Broos said.
“I think in the future, and it is not up to us, but as a coach I will have to ask the people of Safa if they are sure of the security in the stadium they chose.
“I can’t understand why before the break, I saw for an example only 10 security guys but after the break suddenly there were 50.
“Where were they from the beginning of the game? We are playing a very important game and we nearly had a problem because we had two kids in the moment of enthusiasm and happiness running onto the field and nobody did something.
“There was not even a security official who was running behind those guys, this is something we need to take into account for the next game where we are going to play,” Broos said.
These are pertinent questions that need answers.
The security for the game was not up to scratch, at least in the first 20 minutes of the game, and it could have cost SA’s national side the win and the points needed to move forward, if the match commissioner decided to stop it altogether.
This is an indictment on the city that is starved for big games at the stadium; team managers will think twice before agreeing to bring matches to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in future.
Match organisers need to dig deep and look into where it went wrong and ensure something like this never happens again.
Though we want more national and international matches hosted at our world-class stadium, our city must be equal to the task.
HeraldLIVE
Security lapses at stadium could prove costly for Nelson Mandela Bay
Image: GALLO IMAGES/RICHARD HUGGARD
The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was a sight to behold on Friday night, packed to near capacity with about 35,000 fans who came out to show their support for Bafana Bafana in their Afcon qualifier match against Congo.
The energy was electric and the mood jovial, especially as Bafana Bafana scored an eye-watering 5-0 against their opponents.
However, it was not all good news, as the referee stopped the match for about 20 minutes when fans invaded the pitch for the second time after Teboho Mokoena scored his second goal to give Bafana Bafana a 2-0 lead.
Congo players left the field due to safety concerns, putting a damper on the game and raising serious questions about the security preparations ahead of the match.
Though security was later beefed up, it happened only after the second pitch invasion and when the Congo team had already walked off the field.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos tore into the South African Football Association (Safa) for the shambolic security arrangements.
“I was very happy to see the crowd when I came in but I was not so happy after 20 minutes because we could have stopped the game and that could have been a disaster,” Broos said.
“I think in the future, and it is not up to us, but as a coach I will have to ask the people of Safa if they are sure of the security in the stadium they chose.
“I can’t understand why before the break, I saw for an example only 10 security guys but after the break suddenly there were 50.
“Where were they from the beginning of the game? We are playing a very important game and we nearly had a problem because we had two kids in the moment of enthusiasm and happiness running onto the field and nobody did something.
“There was not even a security official who was running behind those guys, this is something we need to take into account for the next game where we are going to play,” Broos said.
These are pertinent questions that need answers.
The security for the game was not up to scratch, at least in the first 20 minutes of the game, and it could have cost SA’s national side the win and the points needed to move forward, if the match commissioner decided to stop it altogether.
This is an indictment on the city that is starved for big games at the stadium; team managers will think twice before agreeing to bring matches to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in future.
Match organisers need to dig deep and look into where it went wrong and ensure something like this never happens again.
Though we want more national and international matches hosted at our world-class stadium, our city must be equal to the task.
HeraldLIVE
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