Watch: Twitter captures ugly Sundowns, Pirates fracas

sundowns pirates loftus video february 2017 neo molefe

We’ve seen some violent scenes in South Africa this weekend largely thanks to the State of the Nation fracas on Thursday night. But when Mamelodi Sundowns took on Orlando Pirates in Tshwane today, no one thought it would end up like this.

Sundowns put six goals past Pirates in the first 80 minutes of the game. Yes, six. This didn’t seem to sit well with some in the stadium. With some Sundowns fans looking on from the stands, a number of other spectators flooded the pitch, overwhelming Premier Soccer League security, forcing the players back into the dressing room, and suspending the match.

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Things then got ugly.

Mamelodi Sundowns took on Orlando Pirates in Tshwane today, but it wasn’t your average football match

According to a video uploaded by Twitter user Neo Molefe (@NeoMolefe_SA), some fans were thrown to the ground, while others were kicked. Bottles and other projectiles were also lobbed into the stands. The SAPS also arrived on the scene and fired teargas to disperse the crowd.

The match eventually got underway again, but for Pirates at least, the damage was done.

Other clips from different angles in the stadium shows the extent of the violence.

There’s no indication of how many people were injured at Loftus.

Sundowns vs Pirate: Twitter has its say

Fans, politicians and other Twitter commentators are reacting to the event on social media. DA leader Mmusi Maimane labeled the incident a “disgrace”.

“We must condemn all violence and sport is not the place for such behavior. Sport is a great unifier, this is a disgrace,” he tweets.

Other fans, like Maps Maponyane, notes that it’s “so tough and stressfull[sic] being a Pirates supporter right now”.

South Africa’s minister of sport Fikile Mbalula also called the incident “unacceptable for our beautiful game”.

Speaking to Memeburn, Sundowns supporter Neo Molefe explains that the incident could’ve been avoided.

“I mean really it could have been avoided. We as supporters are always complaining about the security at PSL games it’s horrible!,” he adds.

Molefe also explains that order was largely restored once the final whistle was blown.

The Premier Soccer League has yet to released a statement, nor has the football clubs.

The incident at Loftus between Sundowns and Pirates comes during a bad weekend for football safety worldwide, as 17 people were killed when a football match in Angola ended in a stampede.

This is a developing story…

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