Both Mona High and Charlie Smith High coaches expressed their dismay when the lights were turned off immediately following their Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Manning Cup quarter-final encounter at the Stadium East field Saturday evening.

Mona players were still on the field celebrating their 4-0 victory over Charlie Smith when the lights went off abruptly, sending both sets of players scampering to their respective changing rooms in pitch darkness.

“It was a hazard to everyone… I think it was not very good that they did that,” said Mona’s Head Coach Craig Butler.

“I think it was unprofessional because people could have robbed us, people could have run and stabbed one of us, so they should not have done that.

“This should not have happened because a lot of people could have got hurt. I was standing in the stands and the lights were off and it could have been the easiest thing for someone to [hurt me],” added Butler, who was red-carded and consequently ordered from his team’s technical area by the referee during the second half of the match.

Eugene Williams, the Charlie Smith head coach, also slammed the move to turn off the lights just after the final whistle, especially without providing notice.

“[It] is a joke thing that they keep up because how you must lock off the lights so fast?” he asked rhetorically.

“They never even gave us a warning, they just locked off the lights just so on us,” he said.

“This is a big, disrespectful thing because remember that it is schoolchildren you are dealing with and you don’t know who is out there in the crowd and people could have got hurt. And so it is foolishness that they keep up on us,” Williams said.

Williams appeared to lay blame at the feet of ISSA, emphasising the organisers should ensure the safety of everyone at the venue.

“It is like they are not thinking about the product because people are here supporting both teams and one team wins and the other loses and so someone could have easily stabbed anybody,” he said.

Keith Wellington, the president of ISSA, while noting he is aware of the matter, expressed his disapproval with what transpired and said the association will have talks with Independence Park Limited (IPL), the operators of the facility, in a bid to avoid a recurrence.

“We are aware of it and this is something that I am really disappointed about,” said Wellington.

“I am going to have dialogue with the IPL authorities as to what is the protocol as it relates to turning off the lights. We paid for the use of the lights so I can’t see why there is an issue to ensure that the place is properly lit for the duration of the event,” he said.