Harsh lessons must be learnt to ensure no repeat of the shooting tragedy and crowd invasion that marred the ill-fated Kariega club rugby derby between Gardens and Progress on Saturday, EP president George Malgas said.
In future, crowd-pulling Grand Challenge Top 12 derby matches could be played at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium or at other venues which have enhanced security features.
Concerned SA Rugby bosses have asked EP to provide them with a detailed report on what turned out to be one of the darkest days in SA’s rugby history.
Malgas said every fan had the right to feel safe at a rugby match and measures must be put in place to ensure this happened.
Saturday’s Kariega clash was abandoned after part of the capacity crowd stormed onto the field with five minutes remaining at the Derrick Ferreira Stadium (Die Hok).
Shortly after the game was abandoned, a fan was shot dead at the back of the pavilion.
The invasion came after Gardens scored a late try to level a thrilling Score Energy Drink EPRU Grand Challenge Top 12 game at 13-13.
Progress are disputing whether the try was awarded and that the score was 13-8 in their favour when the teams left the field.
When pandemonium broke out, referee Aphiwe Mfana left the field before a conversion could be taken.
“One thing we have learnt from this is not to withdraw the security and police early to make sure that everyone goes home fine,” Malgas said
“When I arrived at the stadium, I asked where the police were.
“Ten minutes later, the police arrived and I interacted with some of them.
“I wanted them to be visible at the match.
“I assume that when the game was called off at about 5pm, and everything seemed to be calm and normal, the police must have withdrawn from the scene and gone to other duties.
“People who had enjoyed the game would have stayed behind to chat to one another and socialise and that is when this tragic and unfortunate incident occurred.
“The location [of the shooting] was at a rugby game that was called off quite controversially and it just all adds up.
“It was a beautiful day and the weather was fine and there was great crowd participation.
“We will deal with this and will have to report to SA Rugby, which has been asking for a report.
“EP will send the mother body a report when we have a clearer picture of what happened.
“I want to know why the game was stopped and whether the referee was in some type of danger that needs to be seriously addressed.
“As far as the investigation of the murder is concerned, that is in the domain of the police and they must deal with that.
“I’m really hoping we can tighten up on controls for these big club games.
“Derbies between Gardens and Progress have been problematic and we need to think out of the box for those games.
“On the one side of the Derrick Ferreira Stadium, I could see the fence was down in places and there was access for people to come in.
“That is not at all good for rugby.
“There is definitely a case for big games like this to be moved to NMB Stadium and we were having that kind of chat on Saturday with Gardens vice-president Royden Johnson at the game.
“We spoke about taking the games to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium or a more secure venue.
“The challenge is that we may have to assist clubs with transporting their supporters with buses.
“Maybe we could get a sponsor for the buses.
“Everybody has the right to feel secure at a rugby match.”
This is not the first time that crowd safety has been an issue in the EPRU Grand Challenge Top 12 club rugby league in recent weeks.
On May 24, a showdown between Progress and Harlequins was called off at the last minute because of construction work being carried out at the Central Field in Kariega (Progress’s home venue).
A huge crowd had been expected to descend on the stadium, and EP rugby bosses decided to call the game off in the interests of safety.
The Herald
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