DeMbare boss eats humble pie

By Ricky Zililo

BULAWAYO – Dynamos president Kenny Mubaiwa was left with egg on his face when his pre-match imaginary violence forecast for Sunday’s league encounter against Highlanders proved futile.

Mubaiwa last week wrote to the Premier Soccer League threatening that Dynamos would not fulfil the epic clash with Bosso if their security was not guaranteed.

He accused Highlanders’ fans of being violent, but Bosso’s followers proved Mubaiwa wrong by their buoyant and festive mood before, during and after the tie.

Instead, it was the Dynamos fans who displayed hooligan tendencies in the 39th minute by throwing missiles onto the pitch causing the match to be halted for a few minutes.

They were unhappy with referee Philani Ncube’s decision to disallow striker Takesure Chinyama’s goal for an infringement on Bosso keeper Njabulo Nyoni.

Ncube and his assistant Brighton Nyika correctly called for an infringement on Nyoni after noting that Chinyama headed the goalkeeper’s hands resulting in him losing the ball which then trickled into the net.

Bulawayo police praised Bosso’s fans for their commendable behaviour during and after the much-publicised game, which attracted 16,239 paying fans, as there were no match-related arrests.

“Even though the stadium was closely guarded, I want to commend Bulawayo football fans for their good behaviour,” said the officer commanding police in Bulawayo province senior assistant commissioner Stephen Mutamba.

“Football is a family sport and the peace by fans will no doubt invite more people to come to the stadium. We hope to see more games like these in future.”

Highlanders board chairman Mgcini Nkolomi applauded fans for showing that a football stadium is for sport, not a war zone, as Mubaiwa had claimed.

Nkolomi said it was out of their wisdom that they didn’t respond to Mubaiwa’s claims.

“I think the PSL through its chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele didn’t mince their words in responding to Mubaiwa’s claims. It was out of our leadership maturity that we decided not to respond to his claims because that on its own was going to incite violence,” said Nkolomi.

“I think it was more of Dynamos’ psychological game, which we declined to be part of and concentrated on our preparations. We were not bothered by those threats and it was evident by how the team played. With a bit of luck, we could have won the game,” Nkolomi said.

In their response to Mubaiwa’s claims, the PSL, which has been on a massive anti-hooliganism campaign, challenged football leaders to be careful with their statements.

Ndebele encouraged fans to act with restraint.

“The issue of violence at the stadia is something that clubs intensively deliberated on during our meeting. No one wants to go to a violent environment, hence the move to organise a security workshop for our clubs so that they improve stadia safety. However, as a league, we encourage leaders to issue responsible statements, which are mature and are not inciting or emotional,” Ndebele said in response to Mubaiwa. The Chronicle