The drama that took centre stage at Barbourfields Stadium on May 14 was nothing new but another episode in a familiar story whose actors continue to write a new ugly chapter every football season.
insidesport with MICHAEL KARIATI
Events like the circus that led to the abandonment of the game between Dynamos and Highlanders have become the order of the day and the authorities do not seem to have a solution in sight to the problem.
At Barbourfields on that May 14 afternoon, the real football fan was denied the opportunity to enjoy the entertainment of his hard-earned money by a few individuals who went to the stadium not to enjoy the game, but to destroy the spirit of fun.
In fact, this was the second time at Barbourfields Stadium and in particular, in matches involving Highlanders that hooliganism has reared its ugly head.
Something similar to the May 14 incident took centre stage last month when Shabanie Mine players were forced to cuddle around the centre circle as Highlanders fans threw missiles at the visitors after their surprise 1-0 win, courtesy of a Nelson Mazivisa strike.
Nothing was done – and still up to now, the authorities have said nothing about it because, perhaps, Shabanie Mine are a small team.
What is disheartening is the fact that clubs continue to lose thousands of dollars in fines but the problems have persisted and are even getting worse.
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Whatever happens on Tuesday when the Premier Soccer League disciplinary committee sits down to look at the Bosso [Highlanders] case, one thing for sure is that this will not end hooliganism in the popular Bulawayo side’s matches.
What is needed is a quick solution to the crisis before soccer fans get seriously injured or worse still, lives – even those of players – can be lost.
Over the years, the Premier Soccer League and the Zimbabwe Football Association have been crying out loud that those who cause chaos at stadiums be apprehended and prosecuted, but it seems that has been talk only.
With chaos reigning supreme at football matches, not even one football fan has over the years been arrested or fined, yet clubs like Dynamos and Highlanders have suffered heavily in fines, emanating from their fans’ behaviour.
The fact remains that clubs have played their part in trying to educate their fans on how to behave in a sporting manner at football matches, but they cannot control all of them, especially those who would have spent the mornings drinking heavily.
Even the widely-followed system of forcing clubs to play in empty stadiums will not work in Zimbabwe as the clubs will lose out in revenue while the hooligans can still sit in front of the television and watch the game in bars.
What is needed is a solution that goes beyond heavily fining clubs, and there is only one solution to the crisis. That solution is to put in jail one or two of the hooligan elements, and the rest of them would be too scared to repeat the acts.
Unfortunately, the police who have been tasked with carrying out this exercise have become more of football spectators themselves and spend their time watching football and cheering their favourite teams instead of enforcing the law.
Ironically, the PSL and the clubs are losing thousands of dollars in paying the police “who go on to sleep on duty”. Not even one person was arrested in the aftermath of the abandonment of the match despite clear evidence on who was doing what.
Surely, the chaos at football matches will come to an end when one fan spends six months or so in jail for football hooliganism. Let us set an example.
Perhaps in that way, the good old days when genuine football fans brought their families to the stadiums would be rekindled.
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