Township Rollers has since released a statement, apologizing to the public in the wake of what transpired at the National Stadium on Saturday.

The Gaborone derby which was well advertised, lived to its billing and Rollers could not survive the last five (5) seconds of additional time to claim all the three (3) points, as Lebogang Ditsele cancelled out Segolame Boy’s 22nd minute opener, with a sublime curling effort on the last minute of added time.

The last minute equalizer brought pure joy and elation to the Reds family, whilst it once more proved that, football, despite being a beautiful game, can be cruel, as the Blues were left in desolation and distraught. The match officials could not immediately make it to the dressing rooms at full time, as several missiles were thrown in their direction by angry fans.

The incident further sparked debates on whether the security at the match was compromised, as there were not enough security personnel to deal with an angry group of supporters, the other argument was that, hooliganism has no place in football and therefore supporters should have acted in a responsible manner. The Botswana Football League (BFL) officials are reportedly looking into the incident as they look to address the matter and deter this uncalled for behavior in local football.

“We have noted the unsavory incident that played out after the match between Gaborone United and Township Rollers, wherein pockets of Township Rollers supporters at the ‘Panda’ stand decided to vent their frustrations by throwing objects towards match officials as they attempted to leave the inner perimeter of the national stadium.

“Whilst we accept the emotive nature of football in general, and the Gaborone derby in particular, it is unacceptable to take the law into our own hands, when there are known avenues of recourse as stipulated in our playing rules and regulations.

“We hereby condemn the incidents that unfolded at the Gaborone derby. Furthermore, we wish to unreservedly apologize to Botswana National Sports Commission (stadium owners) the Botswana Football Association, the Botswana Football League, Gaborone United (our hosts) and indeed all the football lovers in Botswana and beyond,” reads parts of the Rollers statement.

When the two sides met at Royal Aria last season, chaos and stampede were noted which led to the suspension of the club’s security officer Montsi Motlatsi and Chief Executive Officer Bennett Mamelodi.

A commission of enquiry team was set to look into the matter and in their findings, financial greed was identified as the root cause of what transpired but the duo, Motlatsi and Mamelodi, were however absolved of any wrong doing.

“It is disappointing that once again there has been some controversy in this fixture, this cannot continue to happen, the matter will be investigated and proper course of action will take place, otherwise BFL will be seen to be supporting a lawless game,” a source closer to the developments at BFL told Sun Sports.

Other than the disturbing scenes after the match, the game attracted a good number of spectators, government and private entities and was viewed as a perfect advert for local football.