When Express play SC Villa, stones are never far away
A police officer arrests one of the Express fans involved in violence on Friday. PHOTO BY ISMAIL KEZAALA
What you need to know:
Although Express and SC Villa have fallen on lean times for most of the last decade, there has never been love lost when the Red Eagles encounter the Jogoos
Kampala.
The premonition was too straight forward. This was a clash rich in varying episodes of violence.
Hooligans and missile-hurling are the rule when Express play SC Villa, not the exception.
Put simply, Friday’s lawlessness kept the tradition of infamy that has been carved by the Express-SC Villa fixture.
Although Express and SC Villa have fallen on lean times for most of the last decade, there has never been love lost when the Red Eagles encounter the Jogoos.
Both this season’s showdowns between the crosstown rivals have been typically ended by tear gas, missiles, and physical confrontations.
In many ways, the Wankulukuku muddle was reminiscent of the 1997 scandal. Referee Steven Muleyi awarded and then cancelled an Express goal, effectively turning the stadium into a warzone.
Anything that leaves Gen Moses Ali lying prostrate has got to be more than frightening, which Wankulukuku precisely was.
On the day, cars were smashed and fans left injured. In a 1998 title decider, referee Umar Bautu awarded SC Villa a penalty with five minutes left on the clock with the score 1-1.
The mayhem that ensued ultimately saw the match - and title - decided in Villa’s favour, via the boardroom.
Earlier in the same year, an Express and SC Villa match to celebrate the Kabaka’s 43rd birthday ended in pandemonium. In the 80s, Express-SC Vila matches were famed for passion and vitriol. More than 30 years later, that intense antipathy has neither been eroded by the passage of time nor decline in prowess of both sides.
