POLICE maintained a heavy presence at Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo yesterday for the titanic Castle Lager Premier Soccer League clash between arch-rivals Highlanders and Dynamos.
STAFF REPORTER
Encounters between the two footballing giants have often been marred by violence as the two teams’ supporters fight running battles after the match.
However, the cops were not taking any chances yesterday. They descended on the venue in large numbers to deal with any outbreak of violence that always accompanies the two sides’ battles.
Anti-riot police armed with truncheons, rubber bullets and vicious dogs, and some on horseback could be seen patrolling the stadium well before fans started trickling in for the crucial encounter that some pundits have described as a title decider.
Although both Highlanders and Dynamos supporters had tried to control their tempers during the match there were running battles between the police and supporters outside the stadium after the match.
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Police arrested their first suspect about an hour before the match started when an overzealous supporter ran onto the field towards Highlanders assistant coach Bekithemba Ndlovu.
Ndlovu who was placing cones on the field in preparation for the team’s warm up tried to show him off the field, but the supporter would have none of it.
He struggled with Ndlovu who pulled him down with police details rushing towards the scene and managed to arrest the man clad in all white.
Supporters at the Soweto end were at some point riled by Dynamos goalkeeper George Chigova’s delaying antics and they threw missiles onto the pitch.
However, Highlanders players were quick to help calm them down. As Dynamos were awarded a penalty, most Highlanders faithfuls left the stadium and started throwing missiles at the water cannons that were parked outside.
To quell the escalating violence, police had to use the water cannons to dispel the crowds with some scaling the Mzilikazi Primary School precast wall to get away from the violence.
Some supporters who were left inside the stadium started a fire on the terraces protesting their team’s defeat.
