THE Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has revealed that it is investigating a costly blunder by the Premier Soccer League (PSL) that resulted in close to 5,000 fans being shut out of Chahwanda Stadium where home team Hardrock was hosting giant Dynamos.
Fans scaled Chahwanda Stadium's precast wall as news filtered in that the newly built ground was full to capacity.
The PSL supplies match day tickets and virtually takes over entrance and other operations during league matches.
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Clubs have unsuccessfully called for the PSL to let go of all match day processes and give full authority to them as they pay for stadia use and are the ones held responsible whenever anything goes wrong as was witnessed at Chahwanda Stadium.
Despite its own responsibilities, the PSL is likely to fine both clubs.
ZRP officers, who usually stand guard at such big matches were few, an issue the PSL responded to amid reports that a Hardrock executive is being tasked to answer.
"The Zimbabwe Republic Police is investigating the circumstances which led to nearly 5,000 soccer fans remaining outside the stadium during the time the match started with some of them later on damaging infrastructure and gaining entrance into the stadium," reads the ZRP's statement.
"The fans contributed to the violence scenes inside the stadium."
Violent scenes broke out in the terraces as the match stood at one all after 71 minutes The ensuing chaos resulted in abandonment of the blockbuster clash that had attracted tens of thousands to Kwekwe.
Statements that the match was abandoned due to Dynamos fans protesting a penalty awarded to Hardrock are wrong as the Kwekwe side's Wilfred Madzungu scored his spot kick on 67 minutes and the match continued.
Dynamos in fact had time to make substitutions as the game proceeded.
The PSL's poorly subscribed online ticketing system also added to the mayhem as fans continue to maintain that network challenges usually keep them out of stadia for longer than what they spend when using cash.
Added the police statement: "The police urges soccer authorities to ensure stadium seating capacity is not exceeded and tickets are pre-sold before the match to curtail stampedes such as the one witnessed before the match at Chihwanda stadium.
"The ZRP will engage the PSL administration and Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) to ensure that effective stadium administration and public safety are prioritized before soccer matches start."
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Close to 20 Dynamos fans were injured while one is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after suffering life threatening injuries from Hardrock fans.
Both clubs, ZIFA, the PSL and government have condemned the violent scenes.
