Weekend football at Kamuzu Stadium marred by violence

A stone-throwing orgy reared its ugly head to mar Evirom’s 2-2 TNM Super League draw against deposed leaders Kamuzu Barracks (KB) at the Kamuzu Stadium on Sunday.

The game was stopped twice as missiles rained on the pitch first in the 74th minute, fans reacting bitterly to referee Feston Kusekuse’s dishing of yellow cards to each of Evirom three players, including goalkeeper Blessings Kameza and captain Acid Simbeja.

The players got penalised for delaying tactics when collecting the ball outside the pitch. There were no ball boys since they boycotted the game following the beating of a colleague by KB player on Saturday.

By that time, Evirom’s Mike Mleme and Harold Zulu had scored each for their respective sides. Half time was at 1-1.

Play resumed and there were no further goals. But trouble was to resurface again as Evirom coach Mario Gadaga started remonstrating against the referee for indicating 11 minutes of added time.

A barrage of stones poured onto the pitch leaving the armed police, who had tried to quell the violence peacefully, with no choice but to fire teargas which filled the whole stadium.

Tearful fans scampered for their lives while few stayed by the VIP main entrance to break whatever was in sight, leaving the scene in total chaos of smoke and heavy exploits which lasted some 30 minutes.

Some fans stormed the dressing room threatening to man-handle the officiating panel they accused of prolonged added time. KB team manager Francis Shaba bemoaned the violence while Gadaga, despite veteran referee trainer Bester Kalombo reasoning with him, complained of poorofficiation.

“People here believe in violence and hooliganism. People are jealous of the dominance of army teams of Malawi football. We could have won the game but ganyu supporters spoiled it all,” complained Shaba who side has 31 points.

The draw coming after Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Big Bullets saw KB slip to second position as fellow soldiers Red Lions took over the driving seat after beating bottom-placed Mzuzu United 2-0 yesterday in Zomba. The Lions have now collected 32 points.

Blue Eagles are now third on 30 points after drawing 1-1 with Civo United yesterday in Lilongwe whereas a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Mafco inBalaka yesterday left Mighty Wanderers climbing down from second to fourth on 29 points.

In Balaka, there were also pockets of violence and play had to be stopped after Vitu Phiri and Zasher M’nongoneza goals. In another game,Mponela United stunned Moyale Barracks 3-1 leaving the soldiers sixth on 27 points.