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Dingilizwe Ntuli, Sports Editor
ONE has got to feel for Highlanders’ centre-back Andrew Tandi.

While the 25-year-old defender is admitted at a private hospital in Bulawayo after suffering a fractured fibula (calf bone) and dislocated his ankle from a horrific tackle from Dynamos teenage forward Bill Antonio on an afternoon of shame at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday, all focus seems to be on the ugly scenes of pitch invasions by both sets of fans.

No one seems to remember that Tandi suffered one of the nastiest tackles ever witnessed at Barbourfields Stadium.

He’s alone in his hospital bed, with close family, friends and his club wishing him a speedy recovery, while most people only talk about the pitch invasion and hooliganism that marred the game.

In the 92nd minute, a large number of Dynamos fans stormed the pitch at the Mpilo end protesting Bosso’s goal and damaged the net, and attempted to uproot the goalposts, forcing the match to be suspended and eventually abandoned with the home side leading 1-0.

It seems the rogue fans’ pitch invasion and vandalism to the goal completely overshadowed the stomach-churning moment when Tandi was left in a crumpled heap in the 68th minute.

Tandi’s fibula fractured instantly from the force of Antonio’s challenge and the injury was so graphic that it left collective anguish on the faces of Bosso players.

Tandi’s twin centre-back Peter Muduhwa was the first to recoil in horror when the magnitude of the injury became apparent and the big defender was in tears.

After a lengthy treatment on the pitch, Tandi was stretchered off and immediately taken to hospital for further treatment.

He is certain to miss the remainder of this season, while his career now hangs in the balance. Antonio yesterday took to Twitter to publicly apologise for his senseless and potential career-ending tackle on the Bosso defender.

“I’m sorry for what happened yesterday (Sunday). It wasn’t intentional. I pray and hope that you have a speedy recovery. I pray to God that you come back and play the game again. I am sorry and wish you a speedy recovery. God bless you Andrew Tandi,” Antonio tweeted.

What happened to Tandi is every player’s nightmare and Antonio’s tackle was irresponsible regardless of his intent.

Tackling from behind is unacceptable and hopefully the schoolboy’s new-found fame in local football hasn’t got to his head.

Indiscipline has ended many promising young players’ careers before and Antonio is not immune if he allows fans’ praise chants and media reports get to his head.

He is still developing as a player and should embrace discipline and fair play for his career to blossom and should never try to emulate the bad boy characters of some senior players in the twilight of their careers.

When a player is aggressive in his tackles, he almost always becomes a target for defenders and that leaves Antonio vulnerable as he likes dribbling.

There is nothing wrong with his hard work. In fact, he should be applauded for never giving up and chasing lost causes, but he should keep his game fair and clean.

Hopefully he will not be targeted so that he realises his full potential in the beautiful game that DeMbare and Bosso fans, and players turned into a nightmare for Tandi and the watching public.