Football’s playing field not level

When you hear a veteran football coach like Gavin Hunt say he wants to retire because he is worried where the game is going, then you should sit up and take notice.

The SuperSport United coach, coaching for almost 30 years, was left fuming after their Confederation Cup match against Al-Hilal Benghazi at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday ended in chaos.

ALSO READ: Hunt contemplates retirement after ill-tempered match against Benghazi

The home side won 2-1, but it didn’t make Hunt or his team feel any better after an ill-tempered match that saw both sides being reduced to 10 men.

Hunt said: “It came from somebody trying to get somebody sent off and it was not right. It happened right in front of us so a lot of people reacted but it’s just sad where the game is.

“It’s very sad and we’ve won a game and I should be happy, but I’m so despondent. It was actually to a point where I said I just want to rather retire and get out of the game. I can’t carry on like this. You can’t play football like this because it’s not right.”

ALSO READ: Mokwena says Sundowns are ‘football romantics’

He added: “I don’t know if he (the ref) has his own VAR or something but this game could have ended up with four players each. I think it could have been 4 or 5-aside.”

Ugly scenes at football matches is not uncommon in African continental competitions, so what exactly are the authorities doing about it?

Very little, which is why it will happen again, sooner rather than later.