To be wrong is one thing – but to be wrong and be arrogant about it… I’m afraid there is just no cure for that.
The whole saga regarding ‘The Leaning goalposts of Stephen Reagan’ has all of a sudden just died down – without any official word or explanation from the region regarding this fiasco.
But what is even more alarming and sad is when a high-ranking official instead felt the need to ‘clear the air’ and justify their penalty kick shambles at the Coke Cup semi-final between FC Tafelzucht and Saxon Rovers with some rather damning remarks on social media – much to the detriment of himself and the region.
I’m sure had it been at any other organisation it would have constituted for a breach of (social media) protocol. So blinded are some to not have realised they could have used their authority and powers (legally) to control the narrative with official communication via a press release to say that notice has been taken about the issue – that’s it! Instead of justifying and wasting time on social media which only made matters worse.
I’ve said it in the past and I will say it again, the absence of a media officer in the region is the main contributing factor for all the messy and sticky they create. Let’s be honest there are just so many tissues hanging in the air – the feedback on the third division monies, the Wayne Weitz-saga etc… but that’s issues for another day.
Look, it is no shame if one messes up, we are all human but at least own up but have the decency to acknowledge and admit when the ball is dropped. I don’t even want to touch on the fact that not a single soul should have been allowed on the field during the penalty kicks – and that’s Fifa’s rules, something by which the region is governed.
According to Fifa rules the goalposts and crossbar must be made of wood, metal or other approved material. It should be square, rectangular, round or elliptical in shape and not dangerous to players. The distance between the posts should be 7.320m and the distance from the lower edge of the crossbar to the ground must be 2.44m.
But clearly, this was not the case with the leaning goalposts and the Mother body in Cape Town did not follow their own book which they are governed by. It was just a calamity of errors that were compounded with subsequent childish and uneducated behaviour from certain officials to try and insinuate that if another angle of the photo was used, then what? Would the goalposts suddenly have become straight?
There was even a chance to prevent all this drama by allowing for the penalty kicks to be taken on the other side of the field where the goalposts were square and met the requirements but for some apparent reason in their infinite wisdom it was decided otherwise.
But these things will happen if football is not always the main priority – and again this is an appeal to those who have been put in charge to run football in Cape Town and to take their jobs more seriously – as you owe it to the public at large. if not be honest and allow those who want to make a positive contribution to take over.
