Saturday, April 26, 2025

Two football fans die at a bloody football match

Chaos erupted during a soccer game that left two fans dead over the weekend.

The referee had to stop the game and run for his life when the game turned violent between fans of opposing teams.

A soccer fan is at the centre of police investigations and is likely to appear before the magistrate court this week on charges of murder following the death of two soccer fans. In an interview with Telegraph on Monday, the Station Commander of Sir Seretse Khama Police Station, Superintendent King Tshebo, stated, “We are investigating a double murder case in which two football fans were allegedly stabbed to death with a sharp instrument during a football game last Saturday.”

He said they are investigating a 27-year old man of Gabane in connection with the tragic incident, adding that the suspect is in police custody.

“It is likely that the suspect might appear before the Gaborone Village magistrate court sometime this week if it turns out during interrogation that he might have been involved in the incident,” he said.

Tshebo explained that on Saturday afternoon there was a football game at Ledumadumane grounds between Naledi Swallows of Ledumadumane and Green Birds of Mmopane. During the match, misunderstandings leading to a scuffle erupted between the fans belonging to the different football clubs. He said it is during the fight that one of the fans was stabbed to death.

The whole match then turned into a bloody battle as the other fans from the other club intervened and allegedly attacked and stabbed to death another fan from the other team.

He said the two fans were pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

Tshebo stated that the two bodies are in a mortuary awaiting a post-mortem to be conducted to determine the cause of death. The  Kweneng Regional Football Association (KRFA) chairman, Tebogo Lenao, confirmed the incident and stated that,
“It is true such an incident happened but I have called an emergency meeting of the region to discuss the matter.”

However, he did acknowledge that it is a heartbreaking incident that no one condones. He said he cannot be in a position to reveal what exactly triggered the incident until he receives a report from the match officials.

“As the chairman of the region I have already visited the two families that have lost their loved ones to pass my condolences to the families on behalf of the region and the mother body,” he said.
The manager of Naledi Swallows, Patrick Lesunyane, accused fans from Green Birds of causing the chaos as, according to him, they wanted to assault the referee.

He said it is unfortunate that two people had to lose their lives during a mere football match.
“As the manager, Naledi Swallows totally condemns the incident,” he said.

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