"The dispute began when the referee awarded a penalty against the visiting team,” policewoman Mali Govender told a press conference in Kenton-on-Sea, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. “Some of the Marcelle players protested, and objected when the referee gave one of them a yellow card. An argument broke out, and some of the Marcelle fans stormed the field. That was when the referee pulled out a firearm and began shooting. He shot the Marcelle coach dead, and wounded two of their players, then ran off the pitch screaming ‘I am now the master of the universe,’ and has not been seen since. We are hunting for him, but he is still on the run. We don’t know what his tactics are, because we haven’t found him yet.”
Later, the South Africa Football Association issued a statement: “It was with regret that Safa learnt of the fatal shooting of a coach and the injuries to players in a soccer match. However, the referee that officiated in this match was not a properly qualified official registered with Safa, he was one of the spectators who had been asked by the organisers to handle the match. Furthermore, we would like to put on record that the match between Ekuphumuleni and Marcelle was an unofficial village friendly that was not played under the structures of Safa, and we are therefore in no way responsible. Safa passes its condolences to the family of the coach, and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured players.” (South African Press Association, 27/04. Spotter: Stewart Truswell)
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