“May the souls of those who passed that evening rest in peace. Among them were breadwinners for their families, important community leaders, children, fathers and mothers.
“For those families who lost these members, to this day I sympathise with them and feel for what they went through.”
The game was abandoned on the night and was replayed almost two months later, with Mooki scoring in a 1-0 win. He dedicated his match-winning goal and performance to the memory of the fans who perished at Ellis Park.
Chiefs posted on X, “#EllisPark43 #NeverForgotten”, with a video of tributes from their squad.
Pirates posted on X, “We will never forget”, with an image of the names of those who died.
The Premier Soccer League had not yet issued a statement on its social media or website by Thursday morning.
‘Among them were breadwinners’: Chiefs legend Mooki on Ellis Park disaster
Image: Anesh Debiky/ITM Group via Gallo Images/Getty Images
Kaizer Chiefs legend Thabo “Tsiki Tsiki” Mooki has sent his thoughts to the families of those who died in the Ellis Park stampede disaster 23 years ago.
Thursday marks the anniversary of the tragedy when 43 fans were killed in a stampede and crushes because of overcrowding after gates were broken down for the Premiership Soweto derby match between Chiefs and Orlando Pirates on April 11 2001.
“The day began like every match day. We were filled with excitement and so were the fans. It was an important match,” Mooki, who took the field at Ellis Park that day, told Chiefs’ website.
“When the game started we did not know what was going on. When the game stopped we were told there was a stampede. Only later did we get to know what unfolded.”
Mooki said the players had a lot to deal with mentally after the disaster.
“We had a captains’ committee of senior players and we were able to get the help we needed to ensure the players were able to continue emotionally and psychologically and play in memory of the fans.
“At that stage in my career I never had the experience of people passing at a game and it was traumatic for us.”
Mooki sent his thoughts to the families of those who died.
“May the souls of those who passed that evening rest in peace. Among them were breadwinners for their families, important community leaders, children, fathers and mothers.
“For those families who lost these members, to this day I sympathise with them and feel for what they went through.”
The game was abandoned on the night and was replayed almost two months later, with Mooki scoring in a 1-0 win. He dedicated his match-winning goal and performance to the memory of the fans who perished at Ellis Park.
Chiefs posted on X, “#EllisPark43 #NeverForgotten”, with a video of tributes from their squad.
Pirates posted on X, “We will never forget”, with an image of the names of those who died.
The Premier Soccer League had not yet issued a statement on its social media or website by Thursday morning.
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