NKARENG MATSHE | Fake tickets are a serious safety threat to Soweto derby

A sold-out Soweto derby is always an eye to behold, but last weekend’s events at FNB Stadium should raise questions about whether the country’s biggest sporting fixture is becoming a safety hazard.

From complaints about seats running out to insufficient parking and people with legitimate tickets allegedly denied entry, there was a sense that last Saturday’s clash between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs may have attracted more people than normal which, if true, would require a total overhaul of logistics around the fixture.

Two years ago, after receiving claims that some people were running a fake tickets syndicate, we set about to test the system and, surprisingly, we were able to purchase two tickets on matchday. We used one to enter the stadium – despite it not being read by scanners – and we showed the other to Bertie Grobbelaar, the chief executive of Stadium Management SA (SMSA) who run FNB Stadium.

Grobbelaar promised SMSA would deploy “high-level technology” to curb the rise of fake tickets, and that there would be surveillance to identify members of the syndicate and possibly prosecute them.

It seems the syndicate was in full swing last weekend, undeterred by SMSA’s threats. As you drove from the N17 towards the stadium, there were more than five people offering tickets to motorists en route to the match venue, and some cars stopped to take up the offer. A friend told me he paid R200 for a ticket.

But more chaos seems to have visited those who arrived late at the stadium. They reported being turned away on grounds the stadium was full, and one video on social media showed police using water-cannon tanker to disperse a small crowd that had tried to force entry.

Among these late comers could have been legitimate ticket holders, delayed by crazy traffic queues. But there might also be those who purchased tickets which would not scan, and were thus just trying their luck.  

What we know, though, is that something looked completely amiss around the venue, with just too many people even outside the venue. This poses a serious security risk.

I had my ticket checked for the first time just metres away from the main entrance and while scanners accepted it, I witnessed some people turned away at the doorstep as the scanners rejected their tickets. The only positive thing here was that there was still an-hour-and-a-half to kickoff, so there was no potential chaos.

But tickets only being checked so close to the venue is a recipe for disaster. I have argued many times before that our football should have adopted the World Cup 2010 model, which barred non-ticket holders from coming any close to the stadium. In 2010, you could never arrive at a stadium and take a seat which doesn’t correspond with your ticket.

Last week, motorists with no parking permits could be seen negotiating with security trying to talk their way into demarcated spaces. I saw luxury cars abandoned right in front of the main entrance, usually not a parking spot. In case of emergency, it would have been almost improbable to safely evacuate so many people.

The Soweto derby has produced two tragedies before – at Orkney in 1981 and Ellis Park in 2001. In 2017 “two people died when a group of people with fake tickets tried to push through the gates” at Soccer City, we reported.

The fake-ticket ring has to be dealt with decisively before it leads to another stampede. We cannot allow greedy miscreants to turn SA’s biggest sporting heritage into a nightmare that it was off the field last week.

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