On football violence
Acts of violence have once again resurfaced at our football matches, just when we thought we were doing away with such behaviour. There are different reasons football fans resort to violence before, during or after matches. But whether there are valid reasons or not, violence should never be tolerated.
My question is: Are we doing enough to stop violence at our football matches? If fans resort to violence because they feel the officiating personnel have robbed them of victory through poor officiation, is enough being done to equip the officiating personnel with the relevant skills?
In other cases, fans accuse the referees of being biased because the fans do not understand the rules of the game. Just how many fans (even football players and coaches) understand the new offside rule, the advantage rule when one is fouled or how many of us know the difference between a handball and a ball-to-hand situation?
Some decisions by referees are and will always be questioned the world over. The men in black are humans and are bound to make mistakes.
Nearly during all international competitions (World Cup, African Cup of Nations, UEFA Champions League etc) we have witnessed referees making wrong decisions that have robbed some teams of victory. Despite that, rarely have we seen the fans of the concerned teams resorting to violence.
Why then is it that violence stills occurs at football pitches here in Malawi? The reason is simple: the perpetrators of such acts know that they can get away with it. When was the last time we heard that the police have brought to book fans responsible for violent acts at football matches? And what has been the punishment? Has it been tough enough to deter others from doing the same?
Acts of violence are treated with seriousness and urgency in most countries. When such acts occur, the police move in swiftly and carry out thorough investigations to find the culprits. That has not been the case here. The investigations are carried out at a snail’s pace and are hardly concluded.
Years back, the British Government gave the Malawi Police Service some cameras to monitor fans in the stadium. The police and football authorities were upbeat that the donation would mark the end of violence at football games as the fans causing trouble would be captured by the cameras. As of now, the cameras are nowhere to be seen. One wonders if they are even being used.
Our approach to prevent violence at football matches should be pro-active and not reactive. I recall sometime back supporters of some football clubs mobilised themselves in an effort to end violence. The idea was good only that they limited themselves to fight violence in their stadiums only.
Matters of security are complex. One is required to gather intelligence from different areas and act on the information. You do not have to wait for a bad act to take place then act upon it. It is better to detect that a bad act will likely occur and then prevent it from occurring.
We have heard of situations where supporters have vowed that should the results of the coming game not go their way, they will resort to violence. Security-minded people would keep a close eye on such fans or would even refuse them entry into the stadium.
Apart from the police, football authorities also entrust security matters on the football pitch with some football stewards. Just how well-trained are the stewards to handle security matters? Can they really ‘smell’ trouble and prevent it from occurring? What about the number of stewards that is deployed, is it enough to quell down a situation at the stadiums? Are they well equipped?
If we are to do away with violence at our football matches we must make the venues no go areas for hooligans by making it known to them (through arrests and meaningful punishments) that should they resort to violence, they will not go scot-free.
On football violence
Cliff Chibwezo
Acts of violence have once again resurfaced at our football matches, just when we thought we were doing away with such behaviour. There are different reasons football fans resort to violence before, during or after matches. But whether there are valid reasons or not, violence should never be tolerated.
My question is: Are we doing enough to stop violence at our football matches? If fans resort to violence because they feel the officiating personnel have robbed them of victory through poor officiation, is enough being done to equip the officiating personnel with the relevant skills?
In other cases, fans accuse the referees of being biased because the fans do not understand the rules of the game. Just how many fans (even football players and coaches) understand the new offside rule, the advantage rule when one is fouled or how many of us know the difference between a handball and a ball-to-hand situation?
Some decisions by referees are and will always be questioned the world over. The men in black are humans and are bound to make mistakes.
Nearly during all international competitions (World Cup, African Cup of Nations, UEFA Champions League etc) we have witnessed referees making wrong decisions that have robbed some teams of victory. Despite that, rarely have we seen the fans of the concerned teams resorting to violence.
Why then is it that violence stills occurs at football pitches here in Malawi? The reason is simple: the perpetrators of such acts know that they can get away with it. When was the last time we heard that the police have brought to book fans responsible for violent acts at football matches? And what has been the punishment? Has it been tough enough to deter others from doing the same?
Acts of violence are treated with seriousness and urgency in most countries. When such acts occur, the police move in swiftly and carry out thorough investigations to find the culprits. That has not been the case here. The investigations are carried out at a snail’s pace and are hardly concluded.
Years back, the British Government gave the Malawi Police Service some cameras to monitor fans in the stadium. The police and football authorities were upbeat that the donation would mark the end of violence at football games as the fans causing trouble would be captured by the cameras. As of now, the cameras are nowhere to be seen. One wonders if they are even being used.
Our approach to prevent violence at football matches should be pro-active and not reactive. I recall sometime back supporters of some football clubs mobilised themselves in an effort to end violence. The idea was good only that they limited themselves to fight violence in their stadiums only.
Matters of security are complex. One is required to gather intelligence from different areas and act on the information. You do not have to wait for a bad act to take place then act upon it. It is better to detect that a bad act will likely occur and then prevent it from occurring.
We have heard of situations where supporters have vowed that should the results of the coming game not go their way, they will resort to violence. Security-minded people would keep a close eye on such fans or would even refuse them entry into the stadium.
Apart from the police, football authorities also entrust security matters on the football pitch with some football stewards. Just how well-trained are the stewards to handle security matters? Can they really ‘smell’ trouble and prevent it from occurring? What about the number of stewards that is deployed, is it enough to quell down a situation at the stadiums? Are they well equipped?
If we are to do away with violence at our football matches we must make the venues no go areas for hooligans by making it known to them (through arrests and meaningful punishments) that should they resort to violence, they will not go scot-free.
The author is an immigration officer and a journalist by profession, writing in his personal capacity.
