Spectators at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban went on the rampage on Saturday night after Kaizer Chiefs lost their Nedbank Cup semi-final 2-0 to Free State Stars.
A video posted by SABC sports presenter Thomas Mlambo went viral after it showed fans attacking and kicking a security guard, believed to be a woman, on the pitch with chairs after the match.
One man dressed in a white vest was fingered for kicking the guard in her head by concerned Twitter users and football personalities such as SuperSport presenter Robert Marawa and analyst, former Banyana Banyana captain Amanda Dlamini, who condemned the violence.
Police and other guards eventually chased away the attackers before attending to the woman, who lay prone on the pitch and whose wellbeing was unknown at the time of publishing.
The result on the field and the subsequent violence led to Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela resigning at the post-match press conference.
Komphela, who did not win any mainstream title during his three-year tenure at the Amakhosi, was quoted by the PSL Twitter page as saying that “If I’m the trigger for this (violence), then maybe one has to say ‘maybe step aside... just stop the switch’.”
“What we saw today is not good for football. It calls for reflection also from my side. About this club. About the future,” Komphela said.
Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung then went on to officially announce that Komphela had resigned with immediate effect.
But it remains to be seen what consequences there may be for Kaizer Chiefs as a club following the violent conduct of the spectators.
The Premier Soccer League fined the club R250 000 – with R200 000 suspended for 24 months – for failing to have adequate security in place at the FNB Stadium after spectators threw objects at Komphela and the players following the 3-0 loss to Chippa United on April 9.
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