BULAWAYO – Highlanders have issued an impassioned apology to the Zimbabwean football family over crowd skirmishes that rocked the club’s high profile premiership fixture with archrivals Dynamos just 33 minutes into the Barbourfields clash.
The Bulawayo club was trailing by two goals when violence erupted with hordes of fans storming the pitch to protest referring decisions which they found unfavourable to their team.
Police were forced to retreat after they found themselves being overwhelmed by the mass of advancing football hooligans.
Some football fans were injured as a result of the skirmishes while vehicles were also damaged as police fought running battles with fans outside the stadium.
In a Monday statement attributed to the club executive, Highlanders issued a strong rebuke on fans who caused the abandonment of a match in what would see the club fined heavily for the mayhem.
The points are set to also be awarded to Dynamos on a 3-0 scoreline as is the norm with abandoned matches.
Said the club on Monday, “Highlanders Football Club is deeply saddened by the crowd trouble that led to the abandonment of our league match against Dynamos FC at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday.
“The club condemns the unsporting behaviour that negatively profiles Zimbabwean football as a brand.
“It is sad to witness such ugly scenes at a family sport event, especially at a time when the club, together with other stakeholders are working tirelessly to bring fans back into the stadiums and convincing the corporate world that sport in general and football in particular is worth their support.”
Highlanders apologised and also urged for a concerted effort to help end hooliganism in football stadia.
“We would like to apologise to all our stakeholders, particularly our sponsors, partners and innocent football loving fans who were affected by the acts of a few selfish individuals who care less about the growth of their clubs and football in general.
“We also pray for those who were injured and wish them a speedy recovery.
“The club also takes this opportunity to implore stakeholders to put their heads together and find a lasting solution to the vice that continuously brings the name of the game into disrepute.”
It is not the first time in two seasons that a match involving the two most followed clubs has been abandoned due to crowd trouble.
Another fixture was abandoned in May last year when both sets of fans invaded the pitch with Highlanders taking the unorthodox celebration for a 93rd minute finish by Washington Navaya that broke the deadlock while Dynamos fans were protesting a referring decision over an incident leading to the goal.
