DR Congo: Mazembe - Lupopo: A derby that rhymes with violence
The great derby of Lubumbashi between TP Mazembe and FC Saint Eloi Lupopo again experienced incidents on Sunday, March 8th, causing this time the final stop of the match at halftime.
Philemon MBALE · Author profile ·
Listen to this story
Audio version in preparation · read aloud by your browser meanwhile
In the city of Lubumbashi, barbarism became commonplace during the great derby between TP Mazembe and FC Saint Eloi Lupopo. On Sunday, March 8, serious incidents were again punctuated the meeting between the two teams at the TP Mazembe stadium, on the sidelines of the second leg of the classic phase of the Illicocash Ligue 1 championship.
This time, the situation was more critical, causing the final stop of the match at halftime. Indeed, upon returning from the locker room, the players of the two teams faced clashes between their respective supporters, both on the pitch and in the stands, making it impossible to continue the match.
A second incident this season
As mentioned above, this case of serious incidents is far from being the first during the Lubumbashi derby. Already this year, the end of the confrontation during the first leg of the classic phase had been marked by intense clashes, having even caused the death of a TP Mazembe supporter at the Frédéric Kibassa Maliba stadium.
This situation becomes worrying for many sports analysts who point the finger at the parties involved in the organization of the matches:
The organizer of the championship is the first to blame because he does not take into account the security aspect of the matches. There were an insignificant number of police officers at the stadium; worse, they almost lacked any equipment that could allow them to contain the supporters. And the clubs also have their share of responsibility: some leaders fanned the fire before the match with their messages. They must be identified and sanctioned," said sports analyst Richard Kadima.
The TP Mazembe stadium vandalized
The TP Mazembe stadium, which hosted the match, was not spared. In a statement, the club deplores more than 500 seats snatched and other compartments of the stadium sabotaged. The TP Mazembe stadium being, so far, the only one approved by the CAF and FIFA in the DRC, it should not undergo such incidents at the risk of penalizing the whole country.
Richard Kadima is clear:
"I don’t see how the supporters of Mazembe can vandalize their own stadium; it’s really regrettable if it actually turns out that it was the supporters of Lupopo who did it. It is the only stadium approved by CAF and FIFA in the DRC and Lupopo even benefited from this venue recently for its Champions League matches. Maniema Union also has to play there next weekend its Confederation Cup quarter-final match against USMA; but under what conditions will they play?”
Current state of affairs
The LINAFOOT Management Committee suspended the match result pending review of the officials' report. In the meantime, both clubs have issued statements condemning these acts of vandalism while blaming each other. Heavy penalties are expected in this case.