The North vs The South? Orlando Pirates vs MC Alger match-up ends in another brawl

by Nomonde Simelane

Just when we thought the chaos was over, it appears that the rivalry between South African and Northern African teams is far from over, as last night’s clash between Orlando Pirates and MC Alger bore a similar fate to Mamelodi Sundowns’ match against Tunisia’s ES Tunis, which saw chaos erupt between fans.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) might have its work cut out for it as tensions continue to escalate between the fan bases of some North African teams with some South African sides after the past two match-ups ended up with extreme chaos and mayhem erupting between players, fans and technical staff.

South Africa’s sudden and unexpected domination in the international football space, as well as in the CAF Champions League, has appeared to ruffle the feathers of the fan bases of some North African teams. For the second game in a row, violent brawls have erupted, which have overshadowed the impressive display of competitive football pulled off by each team.

Firstly, a tight game between Mamelodi Sundowns and ES Tunis, where Masandawana emerged victorious with a 1-0 goal lead, ended in a violent brawl between fans in the stands, where one ES Tunis fan had a close call with the angel of death and was saved by a heroic Sundowns fan. More recently, although the clash between Orlando Pirates and MC Alger was played peacefully with no incident, the end of the match was a different story as we saw similar scenes to that of the end of the Sundowns vs Tunis game.

This time, the chaos was not exclusive to the fans in the stands, but also saw some scuffles from the players, resulting in the need for intense de-escalation. Although there has been no official investigation or comment as to the root of the chaos, social media users, as well as those who were in attendance, revealed that the conflict may have been initiated by an MC Alger personnel.

Although some believe that these actions were a result of the frustration of being eliminated from the CAF Champions League, others believe that this was a calculated move by the Algerian side, who are allegedly opting to play the long game, with plans to sabotage Orlando Pirates next season, as actions would only come into effect then.

The call for CAF to call the North African fan bases to order has intensified, as social media users reveal that they believe that this behaviour is nothing new from the fans, but has remained unchecked for far too long. These fans believe that continuously allowing this will not be a result that is beneficial for the organisation or African football as a whole.

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