The ManicaPost
Freedom Mutanda and Sydney Togara Sports Correspondents
2017 has seen violence and open defiance by PSL clubs come to the fore and the supporters vote with their feet by staying at home. What causes hooliganism and how can the phenomenon be addressed by both government and the Premier Soccer League which includes all top flight soccer clubs?
Supporters can make or break a team. In the 1980’s Liverpool FC was the dominant force in English and European soccer but the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985 marked the decline in fortunes for the Reds whose dip in form resulted in an exodus of quality players from the Merseyside giants and no replacement of similarly good players. Liverpool was banned indefinitely from European football and it is still recovering.
By the same token, Zimbabwean soccer clubs must always remember that what their fans do has a bearing on the growth of the club or otherwise. A growing culture of intolerance by soccer hooligans is a cause for concern. Recently, Dynamos fans took great exception to what a ball boy had done and invaded the pitch; for a long time, the issue of juju in soccer has grabbed the headlines and that has seen players scaling fence; in a way, that encourages hooligans to vent their anger when their team loses that match.
According to a retired class 1 referee, Charles Rangwani, hooligans use violence as a way of venting their anger because things are not going on well for their preferred team. Frustration leads to orgies of violence at the stadia just because one’s team has lost the match and the fans feel an outside force was the cause of that. Referees are easy scapegoats.
It is the writer’s contention that teams whose supporters engage in hooliganism should not be dealt with kid gloves. Deterrent punishment has to be meted out not these slap in the wrist judgements. Going back to the Liverpool debacle, the Heysel Stadium disaster ostensibly started by rowdy Liverpool fans has had far reaching consequences for the Reds as Manchester United went on to overtake them as the team with the most wins of the League.
Sacred cows are killing our soccer; there are clubs whose fans engage in heinous acts but they are allowed to go scot-free or the judgment takes long until everyone would have forgotten about the incident. This must stop for the good of the game. Clubs ought to effect life bans on the supporters who cause mayhem when the paying public just want a leisurely afternoon to unfold. Hand in hand with that, club marshals must be trained to contain crowd trouble.
Many times, we find police details watching the soccer match; that is not on. Let them watch the crowd and react appropriately when things get out of hand. Using rubber bullets for petty crowd trouble is like pouring petrol to a raging inferno. More importantly, the police must deploy details who have been adequately trained for the purpose not run on the mill police officers. Video footage helps; therefore, the PSL and ZIFA must of necessity, invest in video footage for it to be easy to identify the culprits and go on to effect those life bans.
Persistent hooliganism by a particular club’s supporters should result with the team playing to an empty stadium. It is possible as Zamalek once played in front of an empty stadium. Way back in 1993, Egypt and Zimbabwe had to play a World Cup qualifier in Lyon where there were no fans belonging to the adversaries after crowd trouble in Egypt. That sent a clear warning as to what the authorities think about hooliganism. Let’s kick hooliganism from our football.
Potentially defining league matches involving the top four clubs must be played at the same time. The present scenario where a game is played when supporters already know the outcome of the rival’s matches is portentous of a scary hooliganism activity as the supporters want their team to win by hook or crook.
Impartial leadership leads to the smooth running of the league. It is a truism that some of the leaders are products of the club system but it is equally important to know that you are running a national league or association. In matters of crowd trouble involving a team which sponsored you to ZIFA or PSL, a wise leader must recuse himself for judgment not to be prejudicial.
At times, the media hype surrounding derbies elicits emotions where supporters have one thing in mind-their team must win. It is against that background that hooligans thrive as defeat is not in their vocabulary and they unleash ferocious violence on other supporters or the referee when things are not going their way.
Soccer has three results; the sooner that message sinks home, the better. Continuous interaction between supporters, players, clubs and the national association goes a long way in engendering good neighbourliness. Club communication departments must help in designing websites for the clubs so that fans are able to appreciate the club’s efforts to have a peaceful environment within the club. Come to think of it; how many clubs have vibrant PR departments?
For many people, soccer is more than a game; it is their life. Educating these people that there is life after watching a soccer match goes a long way in controlling their emotions. In Shona, they say, ‘’siyai peukama’’ (always remember you are related to that person; therefore, don’t go overboard) Thus, hooligans must remember that the person they hack today is their brother-in-law tomorrow.
Alcohol is said to be a negative influence in decision making. To start with, let no alcohol be sold in the stadia. Admittedly, that may be sour music to some people. We need to nip this cancer in the bud. Sponsors run away when day in and day out, violence erupts in our soccer stadiums. Sports is an industry; it calls for the right leadership to steer the ship.
Referees appointed to handle high profile matches must be up to the task. Mike Dean in the English Premier League is one of the star referees. Felix Tangawarima, Kenny Marange and others used to handle those matches and we expect current referees to live up to the billing. Everyone who is into soccer has to fight to stop the hooliganism cancer in our midst.
