Deon Hotto Orlando Pirates player Deon Hotto (bottom centre) escapes a clash with an MC Alger staff at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday night. Photo: ITUMELENG ENGLISH Independent Media
Image: ITUMELENG ENGLISH Independent Media
Comment by Mihlali Baleka
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) must take actions against the unsavoury scenes that unfolded at Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Wednesday night.
Orlando Pirates drew 0-0 with MC Alger in the CAF Champions League quarter-final second leg, resulting in winning the tie 1-0 on aggregate.
Pirates won the tie and progressed to the semi-final for the first time since 2013, after Mohau Nkota had scored the lone goal in the reverse leg away in Algeria.
The Algerians did not take their elimination in Soweto kindly, so much so that they started a physical altercation with their hosts after the match.
Those nasty scenes happened for back-to-back Champions League quarter-final games in SA as the Mamelodi Sundowns’ game against Esperance experienced them as well.
But unlike in Orlando, where the two teams were involved in a physical altercation, the ugly scenes in Pretoria were between the fans of the two teams.
CAF safety and security division held a meeting earlier this week to deliberate on the matter as it brought the governing body into disrepute.
As such, Dr Christian Emeruwa, the CAF safety and security head, opened up on what the hosting clubs are expected to do to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Emeruwa said: “For CAF interclub football to live up to the expected standards, each club must work hard to create an environment whereby supporters feel safe at the stadium.
“All club managers and security stakeholders are expected to work alongside CAF security and their respective national security officers to ensure the stadium is safe and welcoming.”
Stadium Management South Africa (SMSA), the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Pirates did their part to ensure that all safety protocols were in place.
But MC Alger’s officials did their best to contravene all those regulations as they also fought with the security staff, including the SAPS, that were put in place.
The North Africans’ fight at Orlando did not only end on the pitch, some of their officials took it down the tunnel with the media personnel.
The barbaric behaviour shocked everyone, especially given the fact that Alger were on foreign territory, and were expected to act as distinguished guests.
Pirates’ coach Jose Riveiro refused to put his head on the block and point fingers.
Instead, he said such behaviour doesn’t have a place in football.
“I don’t really know what happened,” Riveiro said. “We’ll suddenly now have to go into a space to know who started the fight. I think it doesn’t matter.
“I think for me, us, and my group, football is something that cannot get dirty with these types of behaviours. It’s something that’s unacceptable.
“Probably, someone was making mistakes from outside, but those behaviours must be far from sport because we don’t really need it.
“We have to learn how to win and lose, and accept whatever result that’s coming. Again, I don’t really know. I was still sitting on the bench when that happened.
“I was trying to understand the dimension of what we achieved, and a second later, everything was a mess in front of me.”
Alger’s coach Ben Yahia entirely refused to comment on the matter, saying he’s a football coach. As such, all the questions that are directed at him must be about that.
Pirates and Sundowns will face Pyramids and Al Ahly in a South Africa versus Egypt Champions League semi-final on the weekends of April 18 and April 25 respectively.
But before then, though, CAF would have to take a decision on the contravening of the safety protocols at Orlando, setting a huge tone heading into the semi-final and eventually the final.