The ugly incidents of violence that rocked the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match between Dynamos and Highlanders at Barbourfields on Sunday has drawn widespread condemnation from stakeholders.
For the second time in two years, a match between the country's football heavy-weights had to be called off prematurely after a group of frustrated Highlanders supporters rained missiles and then stormed the pitch, forcing referee Allan Bhasvi and match commissioner Thomas Kusosa to shelve the match just moments before the half time break.
Police had to exercise restraint to avoid the situation deteriorating. Some unlucky fans were injured during the melee, which was in many ways a bad advertisement of the domestic game.
Commenting in X (formerly Twitter), the Permanent Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Nick Mangwana said incidents of hooliganism contradicted the common saying that "football is the beautiful game" that was popularised by the late Brazilian icon, Pele.
He also advocated for sterner punishment for the perpetrators to help end the scourge.
"There was a pitch invasion in the match between Highlanders and Dynamos. The match was abandoned before the end of the first half.
"Scores were injured and the police details on duty was overwhelmed resulting in reinforcements being deployed. Football is called "beautiful game." This is not the beautiful side.
"It's called "football hooliganism," it can't be explained away. It can't be justified and it won't be excused. There is nothing admirable about it, absolutely nothing emulatable. It needs to be nipped in the bud by making sure everyone involved gets their comeuppance," said Mangwana on Sunday evening.
Yesterday, the Premier Soccer League issued a statement where chairman Farai Jere emphasised that there is no room for politics in the game.
The league apologised to the Government, sponsors and all the other stakeholders for the ugly scenes at Barbourfields.
"The Premier Soccer League condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the appal-ling incidents of crowd trouble that took place at a match between Dynamos and Highlanders played at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday 10 September, 2023.
"As we are currently awaiting official reports from the Match Commissioner and referee before commencing disciplinary procedures, we would like to reiterate that violence and hooliganism have no place in our football and we expect those that breach our rules and regulations to be brought to book.
"The PSL is an apolitical sporting organisation whose objectives are to develop football and foster unity among the communities. We deplore elements who want to use football gatherings to pursue selfish and divisive interests.
"We urge clubs to educate their supporters on football rules and regulations. Pitch invasion and crowd trouble are serious offences that result in severe punishment for clubs.
"We take this opportunity to apologise to the Sports and Recreation Commission representing the Government of Zimbabwe, Zifa, sponsors, fans and other stakeholders."
Highlanders fans were frustrated early in the game after finding their team trailing 0-2 with just over half an hour played. Keith Madera propelled DeMbare ahead with just four minutes played before skipper Frank Makarati doubled with a header from a freekick.
The situation was already tense at Bosso who, after going for the first 19 games of the season unbeaten, had slumped to identical 2-0 defeats to Chicken Inn and FC Platinum in their previous two outings.
Some of the Bosso fans are also bitter with their club's management for failing to beef up the strike-force during the mid-season to improve their efficiency in front of goal. They had targeted to raid Bulawayo Chiefs' Obriel Chirinda during the mid-season window but failed in their bid.
And on Sunday, Highlanders fans seemingly incensed by a number of what they felt were harsh calls against their team, invaded the pitch in the 38th minute, after a five-minute spell in which missiles rained onto the pitch from the Soweto stand.
The fans claimed the referee Bhasvi denied their team a penalty after Mackinnon Mushore fell under challenge from goal scorer Madera.
Bosso apologised for the sad incidents in a statement yesterday. The Bulawayo giants said serious conversations were needed among the football stakeholders to deal with the problem decisively.
"Highlanders Football Club is deeply saddened by the crowd trouble that led to the abandonment of our league match against Dynamos FC at Barbourfields stadium on Sunday.
"The club condemns the unsporting behaviour that negatively profiles Zimbabwe-an football as a brand.
"It is sad to witness such ugly scenes at a family sport event, especially at a time when the club, together with other stakeholders are working tirelessly to bring fans back into the stadiums and convincing the corporate world that sport in general and football in particular is worth their support.
"We would like to apologise to all our stakeholders, particularly our sponsors, partners and innocent football loving fans who were affected by the acts of a few selfish individuals who care less about the growth of their clubs and football in general. We also pray for those who were injured and wish them a speedy recovery.
"The club also takes this opportunity to implore stakeholders to put their heads together and find a lasting solution to this vice that continuously brings the name of the game into disrepute," said the statement from Highlanders.
Football supporters also spoke against hooliganism.
Bosso super-fan and local artist Jonathan Moyo of Lupane said football should unite and not divide people. He also felt the home team, Dynamos, should have provided enough security to deal with the unexpected challenges at Barbourfields on Sunday.
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"To be honest I am against that (pitch invasions and violence); football should unite not divide us. I think PSL should make sure that clubs provide enough security to manage those who resort to unruly behaviour are dealt with.
"Educational campaigns should be done and people should be taught to tolerate each other despite their differences in choice of teams to support.
"We should always preach the gospel of love. And, finally match officials should be very professional when handling these games," he said.
Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association organising secretary and Dynamos cheerleader Chris Romario Musekiwa, who was part of the crowd at Barbourfields, said violence and hooliganism have no place in football.
"We totally condemn acts of thuggish behaviour exhibited by some fans at Barbourfields Stadium which forced the abandonment of an exciting match.
"Hooliganism has no room in our beautiful game of football, hence hooligans and producers of violence must be brought to book. Those who lead crowd trouble must be heavily dealt with.
"It is so disturbing this age to promote violence in the most beautiful game. It's a shame to the perpetrators. We call upon the PSL leadership to act decisively with the hooligans once and for all, before we lose lives. It was indeed a bad advertisement for the local game," said Musekiwa.
