The recent unending debates regarding disallowed goals, alleged offsides and hand balls in the PSL game against Chiefs and Sundowns last weekend are nothing new.
Each time the two teams play there arises enmity and hatred that surpasses that of Orlando Pirates versus Kaizer Chiefs supporters.
Truly speaking, Chiefs and Pirates supporters are friendly rivals these days unlike during the 1970s and 80s.
The real enmity in South African professional football is between Chiefs and Sundowns supporters.
But where and how did this enmity start?
Well, it all started at the Orlando Stadium in October 1986 over Sundowns Brazilian national team- inspired yellow outfit.
There was an unwritten law in South African professional soccer circles all along that any team that found itself wearing colours that are similar to the orange colours of Chiefs then that team had to change into an alternative strip, irrespective of whether the poor team was the home team and therefore hosts or was playing away to Chiefs at the Orlando Stadium.
Early in March 1986 Sundowns as the home team had to change its then orange colours so that they would not clash with the orange ones worn by Chiefs.
Now in October 1986 in a Mainstay Cup quarter final match between Chiefs and Sundowns at the Orlando Stadium, Sundowns unveiled their Brazilian national team-inspired yellow jerseys and Immediately Chiefs, clad in their orange jerseys, protested that Sundowns colours clashed with their team’s colours and that Sundowns had to change into an alternative outfit.
But this suggestion was hotly disputed by then Sundowns owner, the flamboyant multimillionaire Zola Mahobe.
Mahobe reasoned out that in March 1986 Sundowns had to change to an alternative outfit to accommodate Chiefs colours at the HM Pitje Stadium even though Sundowns were the home team and hosts, and that it was now Chiefs turn as hosts to accommodate Sundowns by changing into an alternative outfit.
Chiefs refused to change into an alternative outfit and the two teams had to play in colours which were nearly similar i.e Chiefs in orange and Sundowns in yellow.
The game itself, played under rainfall and slippery conditions on the pitch, was marred by violence and numerous stoppages as each team protested against almost every decision taken by diminutive referee David Nungu.
Pitso Mosimane, who was Sundowns left winger on the day, was hit on the forehead with a knobkierrie by Chiefs security officers and sustained a bruise on his forehead.
This after referee Nungu pointed him out as the player who had punched him when Sundowns players surrounded him in protest against a penalty awarded to Chiefs.
The match went into extra time and was eventually won 3-2 by Sundowns.
But this was the match that marked the beginning of the enmity that exists even today between Chiefs and Sundowns and even those who were not there in 1986 have joined the fray, despite not knowing how it all started.