27 February 2019 –The South African Football Association (SAFA) has moved swiftly to charge Summerfield Dynamos following barbaric incidents on Sunday, (24 February 2019) at Chatsworth Stadium at the end of the match against rivals XI Experience in which the referee was severely assaulted.
The Association has received comprehensive reports of the incident from match officials and are in the process of hauling the home team before the DC.
In an ABC Motsepe League match played on Sunday afternoon, referee Mongezi Phungula was relentlessly attacked by purported supporters of the home team, Summerfield Dynamos.
While there has been an outcry from the public to take swift action against the hooligans and the home team, SAFA had to wait until they received reports from the officials on the ground.
SAFA’s head of referees, Tenda Masikhwa said what happened over the weekend was a cardinal sin and those involved will pay a hefty price.
“What happened in Chartsworth over the weekend was barbaric and not in the spirit of the sport. You don’t put your hand on the match official, let alone assault him/her. We will not brook lawlessness in our game and now that we have completed formulating charges against the culprits, we expect finalisation of this matter very soon,” said Masikhwa who added such an abhorrent act was an isolated matter.
“While this was an isolated incident in most of our ABC Motsepe League matches throughout the country, we are treating this matter with the grave nature it deserves. Incidents like this will not be tolerated at all because they tarnish the image of football in the country. We need to protect the integrity of the sport, its sponsors, fans and all of its stakeholders,” added Masikhwa.
“There are steps to be followed when a team feels aggrieved by match officials’ decisions. We cannot condone violence at our matches; teams cannot take the law into their own hands.”
An official of an ABC Motsepe team in the Free State is currently serving an indefinite suspension and was heavily fined for assaulting a match official.