Chiefs and Pirates to ask PSL to probe FNB tragedy

Two people died as supporters pushed against each other trying to get to the stadium.

Irvin Khoza and Kaizer Motaung made public pronouncements on the matter on Monday and read out a letter they have written to the PSL asking that they lead the investigation.

READ: FNB Stadium stampede victim identified

Khoza said they wanted to step aside as they would not want to investigate themselves. He also spoke on why the match was not stopped after the deaths and injuries had occurred.

He said they have asked that an independent investigator be appointed and that they would have to report back within 14 days.

“Bear with us as we ensure that we gather all the information,” said Khoza.

“One question that comes up is why was the game not stopped? This is a very difficult question, because there are laws that categorise the game, and in this instance it was a medium-risk category game.

“Only the referee can stop the match. There are all these things which make it difficult to deal with the issue. It is like if someone dies while you are having a 21st party or wedding. Do you continue with the wedding? All we say is that before we can apportion blame on anybody we need to gather all the facts.”

He also revealed that they had visited those who were injured in hospital and would be visiting the families of the deceased to pay their respects.

There have been allegations that the sale of fake tickets outside the stadium was the cause of the unfortunate incident.

The police are also investigating the deaths and Gauteng police spokesman Mavela Masondo said they would look into the allegations.

“There are allegations that there were people selling fake tickets. Our investigation will also try and establish what caused the stampede and why there were so many people outside the stadium,” he said.

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