There were ugly scenes in the Sasol League match between First Professional Chippas and Green Eagles, which was played at the Gondeni Sterkstroom ground on Sunday. Chippas scored the only goal for the match in the first half.

Although the proceedings for the first half came to an end without any stoppage, there were signs of dissatisfaction about the manner in which the game was being handled, from the bench of Green Eagles. The officials and fans of Green Eagles were spotted shouting abusive words towards the referee and his assistant on numerous occasions.

The strikers of Green Eagles were caught in offside positions time after time. That resulted in the game’s coming to a standstill for seven minutes in the second half. This after the officials and fans for Green Eagles invaded the pitch and started bombarding the referee, Mr Tshililo Muvhali, and his assistant with vulgar words.

The situation came back to normal after the referee decided to exchange his assistants. The situation took an ugly turn shortly after the referee blew the final whistle. This time the officials and fans for Green Eagles confronted the referee, seeking reasons to justify his decisions, which they said were biased. The argument between the two parties grew bigger and the lone referee was manhandled during the ordeal.

A reporter of Limpopo Mirror, Mr Frank Mavhungu, who was busy taking photographs of the event fell victim of circumstances. After manhandling the referee, the officials and fans confronted the reporter and warned him to stop taking pictures “or else he would die a tragic death.” “Vha shumise khamera yavho u foda minyanyani hu si fhano arali vha sa todi u fela mudavhini (You must use your camera to take pictures at wedding ceremonies and not here, or else you will be killed on the field of play)”, said one of the officials while advancing on Mavhungu.