Crowd trouble costs Highlanders US$68 142 in fines over five years

The Premier Soccer League’s verdict to fine Bulawayo giants Highlanders US$6 000 following crowd trouble might have compelled and awaken the club to look deep into its balance sheet.

Bosso were found on the wrong side of the law by the PSL Disciplinary Committee on Wednesday and were slapped with a US$6 000 fine.

The fine comes after the abandonment of their league match against FC Platinum that erupted at Mandava Stadium in Zvishavane on 23 April.

On the day, the club’s supporters entered the pitch protesting a penalty awarded to Platinum by the referee Kuzivakwamwari Jaravaza with only five minutes left of regulation time.

The incident led to the abandonment of the match, a move regarded as a violation of the PSL’s rules and regulations.

In regard to this, the 2006 champions whose fans are arguably known for the acts of crowd trouble went on to issue a poster seen by Nehanda Radio which accounts for the fines the club has paid to the PSL since 2015.

The Bulawayo giants shared the poster on their official Facebook page captioned: “NO TO PITCH INVASION. NO TO MISSILE THROWING. Let’s work together and make Highlanders FC great again.”

Highlanders have now paid US$68 142 in fines for crowd trouble over the last five years.

The club appears to be working towards bringing acts of hooliganism to an end.

This is seen in a statement the club issued a few days before they clashed with their rivals Dynamos FC in April in the Presidential Independence Trophy.

In the statement, Bosso’s secretariat urged its fans to desist from violence on the match day.

Albeit, despite their effort Bosso are also awaiting another PSL verdict as their match against Dynamos in May was also abandoned due to acts of crowd trouble.

Fans from both clubs, only for reasons known to themselves took turns to invade the pitch.

As it appeared, Bosso supporters entered the pitch to celebrate a 96th minute goal scored by Washington Navaya.

Then their counterparts the DeMbare fans invaded the pitch to protest the goal.

The Harare based outfit’s supporters argued the referee should have given a foul which reportedly occurred during the build up to Navaya’s goal in the dying minutes.