Like many South Africans, we at Nedbank are deeply disturbed by the unruly behaviour of certain groups of spectators that attacked security guards and destroyed broadcasting equipment at the semi-final match on Saturday 21 April between Kaizer Chiefs and Free State Stars at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
We are encouraged by the swift response of the South African Police Service who have already confirmed the arrests of two people in connection with these unlawful acts.
As proud sponsors of the Nedbank Cup since 2008, we’ve used the platform to position Nedbank as the bank for all South Africans and to use our financial expertise to do good for individuals, families, businesses and society. As a result, the Nedbank brand cannot be associated with the acts of violence that was on display for all to see at a Nedbank Cup game, we are confident though that the Premier Soccer League working with safety and security stakeholders will take the necessary steps to eradicate any form of hooliganism from the beautiful game of football.
We don’t tolerate any acts of violence against any member of society and we all have to remind ourselves of our responsibility to uphold the values of our country, and the examples that we set for our youth. We would like to wish all of those affected by the incident a speedy recovery and we are thankful that there are no fatal casualties as a result of the senseless acts.
We will be working closely with the PSL to do a full investigation on the incidents that occurred, and we will take the necessary actions to avoid the same from happening again.
Finally, we would like to congratulate Free State Stars and Maritzburg United for progressing to their first ever Nedbank Cup final, and we look forward to an exciting football match and a spectacular event on Saturday 19 May at the Cape Town Stadium, with the winner set to represent the country in the prestigious CAF Confederation Cup.
Nedbank strongly condemns the pitch invasion and crowd violence that occurred at the Nedbank Cup
Players Group Picture during the 2018 Nedbank Cup Last 16 Draw at SuperSport Studios, Johannesburg South Africa on 15 February 2018 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
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