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"Lives were in danger in Bloemfontein‚" says Platinum Stars coach Johnson

Platinum Stars coach Cavin Johnson believes lives were in danger during the unrest by Bloemfontein Celtic fans that marred his side’s 3-0 Absa Premiership victory at the Petrus Molemela Stadium on Saturday‚ questioning whether the game should have been re-started after the initial acts of violence.

Sections of the Celtic supporters threw stones and “half-bricks” at players‚ causing referee Phelelani Ndaba to halt the game in the closing minutes.

Police were called in and restored some calm‚ and the game re-started‚ but after that Stars midfielder Robert Ng’ambi was struck by a stone thrown from the stands.

“I thought it was a very dangerous situation‚ it is not like it was even bottles that the fans were throwing‚ it was half-bricks!” Johnson tells Times Media Digital.

“What if one of the players‚ on either side‚ had been hit on the forehead by one of those? We could have lost a life.”

Johnson believes that when the game was initially stopped on 89 minutes with his side leading 3-0‚ it should never have been re-started in that toxic atmosphere.

“This is where common sense comes in.

"I mean‚ the referee then added four minutes injury-time when really everybody should have been off the field‚” Johnson says.

“The rules allow for the game to be called-off and points awarded in this scenario and that should have been what happened. We had 22 lives at stake out there‚ the result was never going to change in the time left.

“But then after it re-started‚ we had Robert hit by a stone thrown from the stands. He was in the middle of the pitch so it was a helluva throw. Luckily he is OK‚ but it could have been much worse.”

Johnson believes there were also ulterior motives to the actions of the Celtic supporters as he believes the home team played very well on the day despite the scoreline.

"Stars’ goals came from two free-kicks from Gerald Phiri Jnr and a strike from Bongi Ntuli as Celtic chased the game.

“We really need to educate our fans. Both teams actually played very well on the day‚ Celtic were very good‚ but the scoreline does not reflect this.

“Their players gave everything‚ the coaches were very engaged with the game‚ they really did not deserve this reaction.

“If you look at that stadium‚ there are no half-bricks lying around‚ or stones‚ so this was a premeditated action from the fans who must have brought them into the stadium. Why?

“There is always a third-force in our game sent in to disrupt things and rubbish our football for their own reasons that we cannot see. It is the only explanation here.”

The incident at the Petrus Molemela Stadium follows violent scenes at Loftus Stadium on February 11 when Orlando Pirates fans went on the rampage as their side were hammered 6-0 by Mamelodi Sundowns.

That incident is being assessed by the Premier Soccer League’s independent prosecutor and the league is waiting for his recommendations on who‚ if anybody‚ should be held accountable.

According to Johnson‚ the match commissioner at the Celtic-Stars game‚ former referee Enock Molefe‚ said he would include the incident in his report to the league.

To date‚ despite requests for information‚ TMG has been unable to ascertain from the league whether the incident would be handed over to their prosecutor as well. - TMG Digital