Sports

Tuesday November 10, 2009

FAM and police need to prevent repeat of Kelantan havoc

Comment by ERIC SAMUEL

FOOTBALL fans all the world over are mostly passionate, colourful and vocal. Without them, football is as good as dead.

But there is a difference between being passionate and being plain foolish.

Just ask Kelantan, who have faced many punishments because of their fans’ unruly and unsporting behaviour over the years.

Hot heads: Kelantan fans watching a fire burning in the terrace of the National Stadium during the Malaysia Cup final against Negri Sembilan on Saturday.

And, on Saturday, the Kelantan fans again reared their ugly heads to mar the latest edition of the Malaysia Cup final, which their team lost 1-3 to Negri Sembilan at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

The day began well, with the capacity 85,000 crowd lending the occasion a carnival-type atmosphere.

But the moment Negri went 3-0 up at the hour mark, trouble flared in the stands as the frustrated Kelantan fans began hurling mineral bottles and smoke bombs onto the pitch and setting off fireworks in the terraces.

Some even set the plastic seats on fire!

Former Police FA executive secretary DSP J.G. Raj, who watched the final on television, was appalled at the ugly scene that unfolded at the stadium despite the fact that “fan violence happens all over the world.”

“What transpired here (Bukit Jalil) is about 10% (of the worst violence I have seen) ... but still we cannot condone such acts,” said Raj, who had served FAM for more than 20 years by assisting them in the supervision of stadium security.

He said it was difficult for police to handle such situations because of the unpredictable behaviour of the fans.

“There are some who are not in the proper frame of mind ... either they are drunk or high on drugs. These people pose a real threat, irrespective of the outcome of the final,” said Raj.

But does that absolve the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) from the blame?

This was FAM’s show (that’s why the final was held at Bukit Jalil) and they are responsible for the security.

Did FAM do enough? How on earth did both sets of fans smuggle in mineral bottles, fireworks and smoke bombs?

There were also giant banners all around the stadium. One fan even claimed that he saw a supporter holding a can of beer.

Could all these have been smuggled in if the security had been tight?

In Europe, they conduct body checks. At the National Stadium, they just checked their tickets.

Actually, what happened on Saturday was not unexpected.

The Kelantan fans had caused havoc twice already – and both times, ironically, against the same opponents!

On March 31, they threw missiles and water bottles onto the pitch and set off firecrackers at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Baru during a highly-charged Super League match against Negri, who won 1-0.

Then, on April 7, the fans ran riot and overturned a police truck before setting it on fire outside the same venue after losing to Negri 1-2 in a FA Cup semi-final, first-leg match.

This time the FAM came down hard on Kafa, who were banned from using their homeground for one year and fined RM90,000 by the disciplinary board. (The one-year ban was later reduced to just one month.)

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see a pattern emerging here – lose and the Kelantan fans run berserk.

How many more times do real football fans have to put up with such maniacal support? It’s high time that FAM and the police work together to impose stricter measures to prevent such reckless behaviour.

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