Gunners ordered to play in empty stadium
Boitumelo Khutsafalo | Thursday May 22, 2014 10:35
Gunners have been punished for misconduct following the violence that broke out during their 2-0 Premier League loss to Gaborone United. The Lobatse side pleaded guilty as charged. They have been a small reprieve after the Disciplinary Committee suspended ‘the empty stadium’ order for the second match for 12 months on condition that the club does not commit a similar offence in the season.
They are required to pay P10,000 within 30 days, failure to which there will be no suspension of playing the second match in an empty stadium. “We were at the hearing and we have that judgment. We will not appeal the ruling,” club chairperson, Kitso Dlamini told Mmegi Sport yesterday. Dlamini said one of the things they are going to do is educate their supporters about the consequences of violent behaviour. Besides, they will sit down with the Botswana Premier League to determine the root causes of the problem. Dlamini said that while the sitting arrangement during the GU game could be blamed for the violence, it was totally wrong for supporters to fight.
He said their supporters should realise the danger they are putting the club into by engaging in violence. “We should at this moment be thinking about the plans for next season.
We should be thinking about which players to sign in order to bolster the squad and so forth, not thinking about how we are going to pay such fines. We should also at this point not be thinking about how we are going to play in an empty stadium,” he said.
Violence broke out in Gunners-GU match after the Gaborone side scored the first goal through former Gunners’ winger, Kgololo Leteane. The game had to be stopped for about 15 minutes as some supporters were treated for serious injuries while others moved to other stands.
Prior to the defeat, Gunners had hit a purple patch, flooring two giants, BDF XI and Mochudi Centre Chiefs on consecutive weekends.