Gunners rise from the pits

Their attacks on match officials seemed to gain momentum every time they failed on the field of play. They were a frustrated lot and desperate to find a scapegoat for their team's problems. Referees were often the closest and easiest targets. Supporters hurled abusive words at them and some even had the audacity to physically attack the match officials, blaming them for the team's demise.

While it was not all the supporters, the shared view was that Gunners supporters had turned into hooligans. Few will forget the incident when a referee officiating in a Coca Cola match between Gunners and Orapa Wanderers was ruthlessly and mercilessly beaten with an assortment of 'weapons' from vuvuzelas, bottles, wood and even iron bars. But the rowdy behaviour did not just start two or three years ago. Retired referee, Oneeleng Mpulubusu, once faced the full wrath of the Gunners' supporters in Lobatse.  Israel Malepa was perhaps the latest casualty when his car tyres were punchered in Lobatse just after he finished officiating at one of their games two years ago.

The hooligans were brought to book and formally charged. Then a new committee was voted in which brought team spokesperson, Kitso Dlamini, into the picture. He came at a time when the supporters had not only lost trust in the referees, but even in their own management.

While many would have expected him to focus on recruiting new supporters to the team, his biggest challenge was to restore order among the club's supporters. For the young man he was, having to deal with supporters of such a big team, with its rich history and huge fan base across the country, was no joke. But Dlamini has a way with words, never shy to take responsibility when at fault and always willing to listen to all suggestions.

'I knew it was going to be difficult dealing with the supporters who were frustrated by the team's poor performance and some decisions by the old management which they perceived to be wrong. Facing them alone was not going to be easy,' Dlamini told Mmegi Sport. The new committee, having learnt lessons from the past, had to start a security department within the team's structures which was not needed during the golden era. Gunners' games had to be fully secure as any decision against the team, legitimate or otherwise, could result in a crisis.

Dlamini said that after taking over as marketing manager, he decided to conduct workshops for Gunners' supporters in various parts of the country, especially for the branch leaders whom, he believed, could effect change in their branches. 'I addressed the chairperson because I knew the supporters believed so much in him that he was willing to listen to them. At times I met the supporters myself and nicely showed them the dangers of rowdy behaviour at games. I had to make them understand that they should go to the ground with the sole aim of supporting the team whether things were going our way or not,' he said.

But the supporters were angry with the way the referees were handling the games and there was no way Dlamini could ignore that. 'That is why in some of the workshops we invited the chairman of the referees' commission, Harris Lebotse, to come and talk to our supporters. At times the supporters just think such and such a referee messed up a game and nothing was done. They sometimes believe they would punish the individual themselves. Lebotse told them that they assess the performance of referees and take proper action. As football was still growing, so was the standard of refereeing, and this I believe helped a lot,' he said.

But while he does not condone hooliganism, Dlamini conceded that often he understood why the supporters behaved the way they did. 'There are people who are very passionate about this team. They come to the ground to watch practice and follow the team in good and dark days and when a referee consistently makes an unfair decision against their team, they get frustrated and do stupid things, though they are generally not violent people. I remember the Orapa incident where they referee appeared to have an agenda, but the were not supposed to attack him,' Dlamini said.

The incident cost the team dearly as two of the key members of the squad, former captain, Tshepo Motlhabankwe and defender, David Tsalaile, were subsequently suspended as they were accused of inciting violence and even attacking the referee themselves. But while Gunners have continued to struggle even in the last two seasons, the supporters' behaviour has not raised any eyebrows. They complain just like any fans would do but no incidents of violence have been reported. According to Dlamini, subsequent to the behavioural change workshops, Gunners started a data base system for all their supporters who are issued with membership cards for purposes of easy identification.

'This will help us know if the person who actually caused problems at a certain game was a Gunners supporter or just someone posing as our supporter, perhaps with the intention to drag our name through the mud. But obviously, we know some supporters do not have cards and we cannot just distance ourselves from them because there has been an incident of violence. We know they come to the ground to cheer Gunners although they have not officially registered,' he said. Now that the seas are calm, especially after an impressive second round performance by the team under Daniel Nare, Dlamini can focus on luring more people to Gunners. He says the change has come earlier than he had expected, but he will not rest on his laurels yet.