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Highlanders coach Erol Akbay pleads with fans at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
HIGHLANDERS have condemned acts of violence that forced the premature end to their epic Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match against archrivals Dynamos at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday.

The match was abandoned after 40 minutes following a disputed Dynamos equaliser when Bosso fans bayed for the blood of second assistant referee Thomas Kusosa.

Cameroonian striker Christian Epoupa appeared to score from an offside position after the ball had deflected off a Bosso player.

Before this unfortunate incident, the game had lived up to its pre-match billing.

The home team’s fans did not take kindly to Kusosa’s decision to signal a goal and pelted him with an assortment of missiles, forcing him to flee from the touchline.

Repeated attempts to calm the situation and allow the match to resume were futile as the fans vowed not to allow Kusosa to continue citing previous dubious calls against Bosso.

The match was eventually called off when all efforts to restore sanity failed.

Highlanders’ chief executive officer Nhlanhla Dube condemned the hooliganism and disowned perpetrators of Sunday’s violence as bogus Bosso fans.

Dube also questioned the consistent deployment of Kusosa to officiate at Bosso matches. The Gweru-based linesman was being involved in his third Highlanders’ game at Barbourfields Stadium this season on Sunday.

“Regardless of all these considerations, the acts of missile throwing and pitch invasion as occurred at the abandoned match are inexcusable and as such we condemn the unfortunate behaviour in the strongest of terms and dissociate the club from all forms of misconduct. Highlanders FC categorically stands unequivocally opposed to all forms of disruptive behaviour occurring before, during and after football games,” Dube said in a statement.

“Our club regards missile throwing, pitch invasion and other acts that disrupt the smooth proceedings of football matches as abhorrent. It is our sincere belief that true football fans and genuine Highlanders followers want to see fairness in the game and understand the cost of disruptive behaviour even when they do not agree with a call made by match officials.

“It is our sincere belief that those who threw missiles and invaded the pitch are not genuine Highlanders fans. We urge our fans to protect the image of their club, interests of the sponsors and partners and all stakeholders at all times. We reiterate our commitment to engagement with our members, fans and football stakeholders as we seek collective solutions to behaviour that soils the image of the club and cost it dearly in fines and sanctions.

“We are aware of and understand the concerns of our fans regarding the almost consistent deployment of a particular match official to officiate at matches featuring our club. Indeed, we recognise that the goal scored by our opponents during the match raised questions regarding its legitimacy as it appeared to our fans and players to have been scored from a suspected offside position and appreciate that the above stated contributed immensely to the events which led to the match ending prematurely,” Dube said.

He also saluted fans that passionately cheered the team and maintained discipline as they dispersed after the match had been called off. According to figures, 18 177 people paid to watch Sunday’s ill-fated match against the stadium’s 34 000 carrying capacity.

@skhumoyo2000