Chaos reigns as Stars win league

THE Namibia Premier League (NPL) title win by African Stars was marred by chaotic celebratory scenes from fans who invaded the pitch, leading to a poor presentation of the silverware to the winners.

Stars drew one-all against Orlando Pirates in a below-par match which did not live up to its billing, while marauding fans at the end of the match spoiled what could have been a special moment for the Stars players and management.The huge sea of Stars fans moved into the cordoned area where the presentation was scheduled to take place shortly after the final whistle. The fans overpowered the paltry number of security guards who were deployed to keep order in an attempt to lay their hands on their heroes.NPL acting chairman Johnny Doëseb was swamped by fans even before he handed over the trophy to Stars captain Andrew Tjahikika. Some fans tried to grab the trophy from Tjahikika, who managed to hold onto it and passed it on to his players.The chaos continued with more fans coming in and preventing journalists from conducting interviews with the coaches and players.The situation was unbearable for most photographers, who struggled to get decent shots of the presentation and the players celebrating.Fans wanted to have a say during the interviews too, and wanted to be photographed with each player at the same time. The organisers did not even manage to hand over medals to the Stars players and management.They were instead forced to hastily find cover in the tunnel as some fans tried to grab their shirts in the process.The situation carried on in the cloakrooms, with some fans trying to get into the changing rooms, and the security nowhere to be seen.The Namibian could not obtain comment from the NPL authorities at the time and efforts to get them to comment on the issue proved futile.Humphries Security Guard Division chief Laurentius Humphries said he was ‘terribly upset’ about the behaviour of the fans on the night.He said they had enough manpower to take control of the situation throughout the match, but admitted that they did not anticipate that more people would make their way to the presentation point.’I am very angry about the whole situation. It could have been avoided if we had planned better. I am angry for the Stars fans because they are the only ones who always do this kind of thing. Next time we will make sure it does not happen,’ he said.* See NPL weekend fixtures for the remaining matches on page 39. corry@namibian.com.na