Instigators of Orlando brawl must be embarrassed: Pirates coach Riveiro

While his MC Alger counterpart refused to comment on the melee that broke out at full-time of Wednesday's match at Orlando Stadium, Orlando Pirates' Jose Riveiro rebuked the violent behaviour that played out, saying the instigators should be embarrassed.

Pirates frustrated Alger to a goalless stalemate in the second leg of the Caf Champions League quarterfinal to book their spot in the semifinals. Bucs won the away leg by a single goal last week, so prevailed 1-0 on aggregate.

At full-time on Wednesday night, a chaotic fracas broke out between the two teams after an Alger official appeared to be slapping Pirates' head of security Nhlanhla Jwara. The visiting fans had also clashed with the security personnel in the stands midway through the second half.

The full-time chaos culminated in a pitch invasion as Bucs fans entered the field, seemingly to protect their officials, with the security personnel ending up escorting Alger off the field. There were no injuries reported.

MCA coach Khaled Ben Yahia refused to comment on the incident that his team appeared to have started.

Riveiro lamented the ugly scenes as “unacceptable”, lauding Pirates fans for being a “good example”, while he appeared to take a dig at Alger for being bad losers. 

“I don't really know what happened and now probably we're going to a space to find out who started the fight — I think it doesn't matter,” Riveiro said.

“For me and my group, football is something that can't get dirty with this type of behaviour.

“It's something unacceptable, whatever happened there. Probably everybody was making mistakes there, but those sort of behaviours aren't needed.

“We have to learn how to behave after winning and after losing, and we have to accept the results.

“Probably we'll see some sad pictures and I hope the people who see themselves in those pictures feel embarrassed enough to know they must not repeat it. Our fans are a good example all around the world on how to have a good spirit.”

Wednesday's ugly scenes further shone a spotlight on the puzzling unruly behaviour of North African supporters on South Africa soil.

Last week a nasty fight broke out between Esperance and Mamelodi Sundowns fans at Loftus Versfeld after Tunisian supporters allegedly provoked the locals. That fracas left several Tunisians injured.

Zamalek fans also instigated violence at Cape Town Stadium after their goalless draw against Stellenbosch last week. 

The incidents, though, also raise questions about the level of stadium security applied by South African clubs.

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