Stadium boss investigates 6,000 fans locked out of Soweto Derby

Stadium Management South Africa are investigating how around 6,000 fans ended up being locked outside FNB Stadium during Saturday's Soweto Derby, whose tickets were sold out within six hours.

Orlando Pirates beat Kaizer Chiefs 2-1 in a tactical Betway Premiership clash to earn a crucial three points and bragging rights — but the action on the pitch was overshadowed by the chaos unfolding beyond the turnstiles.

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"We will get all of the feedback today"

Bertie Grobbelaar, Stadium Management SA director, revealed that they were currently waiting for reports that will explain how more than 6,000 people couldn't enter the venue.

"We will get all of the feedback today [Monday]. The gates were closed with 88,000 people inside the venue, and we still had about 6,000 on the outside," Grobbelaar told KickOff exclusively.

"People without tickets in the precinct"

The Stadium Management director confirmed that there were significant issues outside the venue, including damage to property — with Grobbelaar suggesting that many of those locked out did not have legitimate tickets.

"They damaged our property, but they were outside; on the outside we had a lot of issues. So, it means again, we had people without tickets in the precinct. That is my concern. And we're still gonna have a debrief about all of that. On the inside, I think it all went well. It was well managed on the inside, but definite issues on the outside," he said.

"We need facts; we can't speculate"

Grobbelaar concluded by stating that Stadium Management will need to verify the ticketing data to determine how many of those locked out were genuine ticket holders — a process that will require cooperation from the ticketing agency.

"If the people who were outside had tickets or not, we will need to find out from the ticketing agency how many legitimate tickets were scanned. We need facts; we can't speculate," he added.

The next instalment of the derby is scheduled for 13 March next year — by which time Stadium Management will be hoping to have resolved the issues that marred an otherwise memorable occasion.

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Betway Premiership Bruce Grobbelaar Exclusive Fnb Stadium Kaizer Chiefs Orlando Pirates Stadium Management South Africa