I am no Eddie Levert. The only common denominator between the crooner and me is our abundant melanin drip. Even there, mine is more generous than that of Gerald’s dad. Our other shared similarity is that we were both raised in areas whose names begin with the letter C. Him in Canton, Ohio, me in Chesterville, Durban.
Levert, together with his buddies Walter Williams and William Powell, go by the name The O’Jays, a trio who are merchants of sweet, melodic soulful, mellow voices. The group’s music was part of my late granddad’s prized collection of vinyl records.
The song A Prayer was the signature soundtrack blasting out from the Blaupunkt record player on any given Sunday within the walls of granddad’s four-room abode in Chesterville. “I pray for love, joy, peace and happiness, to be present in my home, well I do,” Levert croons.
Love was on display at Loftus Versfeld on Tuesday when a situation pregnant with potential to sully South African and African soccer was saved by someone who remained cool, calm and collected while chaos ensued all around him. That someone is young Siboniso Masango, whose heroic act saved Christian, a Tunisian man who could have fallen to a tragic injury or even death.
Moments after the referee blew the final whistle to end the Caf Champions League quarterfinal first leg — with the scoreboard reading 1-0 in favour of Mamelodi Sundowns against Esperance Sportive de Tunis — visiting fans became enraged and started engaging in unruly behaviour.
Cavemen from the stone age
They stripped the Sundowns signage, pelted an assortment of objects, including flares and pepper sprays, at Downs supporters. Things escalated into a free-for-all and violence erupted.
During the savagery of supposedly civilized people behaving like cavemen from the Stone Age, Masango displayed a humanitarian spirit. He rushed in the direction of Christian, who in desperation to avoid being trampled on by his fellow Tunisian fans, clung on a railing on the Loftus north stand.
Ignoring the objects pelted at him, the Sundowns supporter reached the Esperance fan and rescued him to safety. In that instinctive act, Masango provided a comforting resolution to an ugly scene. His heroism saved the day, averting potential loss of life on South African soil in a competition played under the auspices of Caf, an organisation whose president is Patrice Motsepe, a South African tycoon and owner of Sundowns.
In true sportsmanship, Sundowns extended an apology to Esperance. “In accordance with our African culture of compassion and empathy (Ubuntu) we are required to apologise to Esperance de Tunis and its supporters as the unruly behaviour took place at our home stadium, despite the videos and facts indicating that the Sundowns supporters did not initiate the unruly behaviour.”
Some north African supporters are notorious for anti-football antics that go against the spirit of the game. They cock a snook at the concept of fair play, especially on their home turfs, by flashing laser lights at opposition players and using smoke bombs.
To their credit, Caf is dealing with the demon of misconduct. In December, its disciplinary board found AS Rabat guilty for using smoke bombs and laser lights against Sundowns. The Moroccan club was fined $5,000 (R95,000) and $10,000 (R190,000) for the respective offences.
Thuggery tide of hooligans
Algeria’s CR Belouizdad were also found guilty after their fans used smoke bombs against Orlando Pirates in late November. They were fined $10,000, with $5,000 suspended on condition they do not commit a similar offence in the next 12 months.
To stem the thuggery tide of hooligan fans, Caf must adopt a stronger stance and ban the clubs from participation.
Sundowns must wage battle on the field and beat Esperance in their backyard in the second leg on Tuesday. Pirates must follow suit against MC Alger on Wednesday. That way, they will move closer to our prayer for a first all-South African and southern African Champions League cup final.
A Sundowns v Pirates Champions League. On that day, from Chesterville to Cairo, we will play The O’Jays. But the soundtrack will be Stairway To Heaven. To heaven of southern Africa bucking the trend of continental club competitions being the domain of north African clubs.
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