WINDHOEK – What was initially meant to be a leisurely gathering with old time footballers who dusted off their togs to go down memory lane with some football action on Saturday ended in a bitter taste in the mouth of many football followers, including the participants themselves.
Accusations of racism flew around with a well-known upcoming football coach, who plies his trade in the country’s topflight football league, at the centre of the storm for allegedly using abusive and provocative language towards his opponents. The incident happened during the round robin match between Swakopmund Football Club (SFC) and Epukiro Chiefs Old Boys during the annual Horsti Pietzsch Cup Tournament hosted by Ramblers Football Club at the club’s premises in Pionierspark on Saturday.
Former African Stars tough tackling defender Vemuna Hoveka has accused incumbent PC Blue Boys youthful mentor Gerald Guther as the main perpetrator for allegedly using inappropriate and derogative language as he constantly mocked his teammate and respected Windhoek judge Gideon Imbili throughout the encounter by calling him a donkey. “I overheard him calling Gideon a donkey and when I reprimanded him, he told me in no uncertain language that all blacks are descendants of donkeys to which I further cautioned him to cease uttering such words as it amounts to racism. He would not stop and responded by swearing at my mother whereupon I punched him,” said an agitated Hoveka.
The incident was brought to the attention of the tournament organizers after the match, but they appeared disinterested with no action taken against the accused.
Dozens of observers who became aware of the fracas have called for the country’s football authorities to launch a thorough investigation into the damning allegations and to take appropriate action if the allegations should prove true. “This is totally unacceptable that somebody who coaches in the country’s flagship league where football has long gone past racial barriers should use such words. There is no place in football for people with such a colonial mentality, or else how does one describe such aggression towards fellow human beings,” charged an angry retired footballer.
When approached to shed light on these allegations, Guther tried to pour cold water on the altercation, claiming that football is an emotional game and things are likely to heat up when the going gets tough. “It should be understood that sometimes players would exchange unpleasant words towards each other in the heat of the moment, but I did not use any racial slur towards anybody on the field as claimed,” Guther shot back.
By Carlos Kambaekwa