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WE condemn the acts of hooliganism and ugly scenes which marred the end of a Premier Soccer League match pitting Highlanders FC and FC Platinum at Mandava Stadium on Sunday and call on football authorities to clamp down on the lunatic fringe which is threatening to tarnish the image of the beautiful game in the country.

A few louts among a section of travelling Bosso supporters spoiled an otherwise beautiful day by throwing plastic bottles onto the field of play in protest against a penalty awarded to FC Platinum torching a chain of events which culminated in the abandonment of the match in the 93rd minute with both teams deadlocked at 1-1.

The referee called off the match after police fired teargas inside the stadium endangering both teams, their officials and thousands of fans who began streaming out of the facility with some, including children, exposed to the full effects of the tear smoke. While we don’t condone any acts of violence and thuggery, we feel the police might have panicked and overreacted to the missile throwing and could have triggered a calamitous and unmitigated disaster of epic proportions because of their heavy handedness.

Clearly the situation was under control with the referee set to end the match in less than a minute and as to why the police chose to unleash a volley of teargas on thousands of fans instead of dealing with a few hooligans who were obviously pursuing a different agenda baffles us.

We can only posit that maybe events at Barbourfields Stadium where a handful of Highlanders supporters caused the abandonment of a match between their team and Dynamos could have been weighing on their minds such that they felt they could not take chances. But logic dictates that tear smoke should only be used outside the stadium where the wide open spaces allow for it to dissipate faster without causing collateral damage to innocent people.

Be that as it may, we feel Highlanders as an institution should find ways of controlling its supporters some of whom appear intent on inflicting further harm and misery to the club which is reeling in debt.

The club cannot afford to continue accumulating heavy fines for wayward behaviour by its fans as this not only tarnishes its image but could alienate it from sponsors who might not want to be associated with thuggery and lawlessness.

In this vein, we are glad that Highlanders has moved swiftly to condemn acts of hooliganism at Mandava and distanced itself from the actions of a few thugs who clearly were on a different agenda from the rest of the Bosso family.

Addressing a Press Conference in Bulawayo yesterday, acting chairman Modern Ngwenya said his club strongly condemns any form of violence. He expressed concern at what he called people masquerading as club supporters to dent Bosso’s image. Ngwenya also blamed the police for failing to manage the few people responsible for throwing missiles onto the pitch and questioned if any arrests had been made at Mandava Stadium.

“As Highlanders FC, we follow the statutes and laws of football in the country. We follow the Fifa and Zifa statutes. We are subordinate to those bodies. We discourage any form of hooliganism or any act of violence. As a big club, we endeavour at all times to be a role model to other clubs that came after us,” he said.

“The game at Mandava was about to end, just some seconds before the final whistle, and skirmishes that were happening outside were dealt with inside the stadium. Instead of dealing with the perpetrators outside the stadium they (police) decided to throw teargas onto the stand which had been cleared. The game was about to start and the police overreacted by throwing teargas onto the field of play.

“We’ve had skirmishes before at Mandava Stadium, but never before have we had such overreaction from police throwing teargas onto the field of play. I think there are some better methods of dealing with crowd trouble than that,” Ngwenya said.

He also took a swipe at people abusing the Highlanders’ brand by causing skirmishes. “I just want to take this opportunity to appeal to our supporters, those that love football and those that are bent on soiling our name as Highlanders to desist from acts of violence or hooliganism because it’s affecting us as a club. We are a club that respects the statutes of the game and it should remain that way. We want to encourage all football lovers to respect the referees’ decisions whether right or wrong,” Ngwenya said.

We welcome his wise words and call on authorities to clamp down on hooliganism perpetrated by people with nefarious agendas but using Highlanders to pursue their cause.