'Never again' says Kaizer on tragedy's 10th anniversary

On the 10th anniversary of the worst tragedy in South African sport during a fateful derby match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Motaung on Thursday proclaimed "it will never happen again."

The renowned rivals are poised to attract a riveting crowd of 90 000 to FNB Stadium on Saturday to witness their Premier League encounter.

The sentiments of the Chiefs’ chairman were echoed by his Pirates’ counterpart and PSL chairman Irvin Khoza, as the two club leaders looked back on the occasion in which 42 spectators lost their lives.

“That was the worst day of my soccer career,” said Motaung, recalling the game in 2001 which was abandoned in the 33rd minute amid bedlam after Chiefs’ PRO Putco Mafani had announced over the loudspeaker system that “there are dead bodies lying around everywhere. This is a disaster.”

An estimated 120 000 spectators had descended on an Ellis Park Stadium designed to seat not much more than half that number and pandemonium reigned as fans battled to gain entry into the ground and secure a vantage point for themselves.

Instead, with 80 000 already having shoe-horned into a setting of escalating chaos, the grim spectre of death enveloped the proceedings.

“The pitch resembled a mass burial ground as bodies were laid out in a row,” said Motaung.

“People were crying hysterically over the loss of dear ones. Ambulances were everywhere. It was literally a war zone.

“But from this grim occasion,” added Motaung, “the PSL learnt a bitter lesson and safeguards have been introduced which makes me able to proclaim with conviction that something similar will never occur again.”

The Chiefs’ chairman said pre-match booking now assured that the excessive number who turned up at Ellis Park 10 years ago would not be repeated — “and security measures have been tightened and streamlined in many ways.

“And of course we now have a suitable venue at FNB Stadium which can cater for the massive crowds the Chiefs-Pirates derbies attract.”

Meanwhile, PSL Security Manager Phillip Masimong said an intricate and extended security operation had already been mapped out for Saturday’s encounter.

“To bolster the planning,” he added, “we have secured the assistance of many volunteers who helped during the organisation of last year’s World Cup.”

By midday on Thursday almost 80 000 tickets had been sold and Masimong said the “full house” signs were expected to be hoisted before Saturday.

But a little eerily, just as in 2001, a Chiefs-Pirates derby will be played with the two glamour clubs occupying the two top positions in the PSL log.