DURBAN - The scenes that occurred at Moses Mabhida Stadium were one of the lowest moments in South African soccer in recent years, but Free Stars Stars boss Luc Eymael has seen worse than that in his career.
Kaizer Chiefs fans ran riot as they vented their anger for their side's surprise 2-0 defeat by Ea Lla Koto in the Nedbank Cup semifinal in Durban on Saturday night.
Harris Tchilimbou was the hero on the night when he scored the that sunk the country's most successful team in the Nedbank Cup.
Stars coach Eymael though says he has seen worse than what transpired at the iconic Moses Mabhida.
READ MORE: Kaizer Chiefs slam fans for Moses Mabhida Stadium violence
“I don’t like hooliganism," Eymael said, stating what some felt was obvious. "It is sad for a fantastic country like South Africa and a fantastic organisation like Nedbank. But I’ve seen something 10 times worse than that when I was at AS Vita Club (in DRC Congo) because some people think that I never managed a big team.
"I have managed Vita Club and El-Merreikh in Sudan. When I was at Vita Club I stayed three hours in the change-room after we drew at TP Mazembe in the last minute.
"We couldn’t take the bus to get to the airport. They (the supporters of Mazembe) broke everything but it was not in the new stadium, it was in the old stadium of Mazembe.
"But after that, we finally reached our chairman and he sent people to take us out of the stadium.
READ MORE: Time for the PSL to bring stadium hooligans to book
"They shot in the air and we had the chance to come out of the change-room and we went with the bus of Mazembe to the airport,” Eymael explained.
Chiefs are expected to be hit with hefty fine after their fans vandalised the stadium property.
“When you come from Lubumbashi to Kinshasa, thousands and thousands of fans and people are applauding you and encouraging you after coming from the hell and you go to the paradise," Eymael concluded.
"It is sad because we cannot accept hooliganism. But you can perhaps understand people who are trying to support their club and they want results but you know it in football the truth is always on the pitch."