TP Mazembe claim they are stranded in Durban because their six players’ passports went missing on Wednesday during the CAF Confederation Cup match against Royal AM.
Mazembe says the incident happened during the second round, second-leg game at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Mazembe accused Royal AM supporters of beating up their Congolese counterparts in the terraces.
The visitors say passports and other items for their players went missing from the locker rooms.
“The qualified TPM will remain stranded in South Africa to find a way of transporting its six players,” the TP Mazembe website reads.
The Congolese side beat Royal AM 1-0 on Wednesday and 3-0 over two legs of the second-tier continental competition.
Adam Bossu scored the lone goal in the first half for Mazembe. The Lubumbashi-based team said their qualification to the group stages of the competition was marred by the off-the-field incidents.
“…there were serious issues in the stands as our supporters were assaulted by well-identified officials and in the locker rooms, passports, mobile phones and other personal effects vanished,” Mazembe website reads.
ROYAL AM REACTS
In reaction, Royal AM general manager Richard Makhoba confirmed to FARPost that he was aware of the visitors’ complaint.
Makhoba said he had asked the stadium management and the police to investigate Mazembe’s claims.
“I have asked the security guys to check the footage because it is a big stadium. And, as far as I know, we cannot do something like that as Royal AM,” he tells FARPost.
He suspected that TP Mazembe could be blowing things up to attract attention.
“We are not like them. They did this to AmaZulu, they did this to us, they did this to Pirates, they did this to Sundowns. And they did this to Marumo Gallants. Otherwise, they were lucky to win, and congratulations to them,” Makhoba said.
Royal AM said they were harassed in the first leg match played in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Durban-based team were making their maiden appearance in the continental competition after finishing third last season in the DStv Premiership.
Royal AM had a dream start to the maiden Confederation Cup campaign. The Durban-based team eliminated Mbabane Highlanders and Zesco United of Eswatini and Zambia to advance.
