Last week was a bad one for the 2010 World Cup host nation. South Africa isn’t exactly blessed with a good record for safety but staging such a prestigious event is a chance for the country to change people’s perceptions.
News broke earlier in the week that South Africa’s police were taking over security in a fourth football stadium following strikes by stewards. The staff, who are employed by a private company, are protesting over pay and their actions have meant that grounds in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth are now under police control.
More worryingly, an England fan breached security at the Green Point stadium in Cape Town following England’s Algeria match and found himself face-to-face with David Beckham in the England dressing room. Mortgage advisor Pavlos Joseph was looking for a toilet and was sent in the direction of the dressing room by a security guard.
After airing his frustrated views, Mr Joseph was escorted away by a FIFA official and left the stadium unchallenged.
Lapse of security
The England fan, talking to the Sunday Mirror, said: “This was 45 minutes after the game had finished. There were a few photographers packing up their stuff, there were six or so grounds men working on the grass and a dozen police doing a practice march, but no-one else around.”
It’s clear there was a massive post-match lapse of security in Cape Town. It’s all well having a full security operation during the match but it’s vital not to take your eye off the ball after the match has finished.
Firstly, the security guard should have had better knowledge of the stadium so he could have correctly directed Mr Joseph to the toilets; secondly, why wasn’t there any security at the England dressing room door and thirdly, why were the police marching and not patrolling?
KM Security Solutions would advise a full stadium sweep post match so any lost or straggling fans would have been escorted to the exits promptly rather than being left to aimlessly wander around the stadium. Although CCTV has its role, there’s nothing better than an informed physical presence to avoid security violations.