Chronicle Editor
Gerald Sibanda
SUPPORTERS of Southern Region Division One side, Jordan Sinnot attacked and injured an Emakhandeni Pirates players, in a league match which was played at Filabusi on Saturday.
One of Emakhandeni’s players, who preferred not to be named, said the attacks were caused by a penalty protests from their players (Jordan Sinnot).
“It was in the late stages of the game and Jordan were leading 1-0 when one of their players handled inside the box. As expected, we protested to the referee who ignored us and insulted one of our players, and so did the assistant referee.”
“Their supporters eventually flooded the pitch and attacked our players, causing serious injuries to our players, who ended up needing to be hospitalised. Police could not help us as they were outnumbered by the supporters.”
The Southern Region is not the only Division One Region that has been affected by violent football fans. There has also been an incident in the Northern Region where JM Busha fans attacked the referee for an alleged “dubious decision” made when they played against log leaders, Wangu Mazodze, alleging that officials were paid by the opponents.
The Emakhandeni player also questioned whether the safety of players is being considered by the officials who are not deploying enough security personnel during league matches.
Southern Region spokesperson, Blessing Mbwanda said that no action is yet to be taken as investigations are still on-going.
“We are still awaiting communication from both sides, Emakhandeni and Jordan Sinnot, and investigations are still on-going, therefore no action has been taken at the moment.”
Online Reporter