South African football never seems to be shy of controversies for the press to report on.
Still‚ somehow 2018 felt like a year where football scribes‚ disappointingly‚ spent more time reporting on off-field issues than the actual soccer.
Plenty to write about‚ but not always what we wanted to write about.
We have identified the five biggest soccer controversies that grabbed the headlines in 2018.
1) The Moses Mabhida Stadium pitch invasion
A second violent pitch invasion in two seasons‚ following Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns supporters’ debacle at Loftus Versfeld in February 2017‚ this time by Kaizer Chiefs fans at Moses Mabhida Stadium in April 2018‚ raised serious questions about the state of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) matchday security.
An estimated R2‚6m damage was caused as fans burned seats and damaged television equipment‚ including trashing cameras.
Worst of all was the serious beating of a security official.