EACH and every year in our football stadiums, there happens an incident of hooliganism that leaves the nation talking.
Only last week, the game between Dynamos and Highlanders was abandoned moments before the break after Highlanders fans threw all sorts of missiles onto the pitch before invading the field of play.
Last year, it was Dynamos supporters who went berserk at the same venue forcing the game to be abandoned at a time Bosso was leading 1-0 with just a minute or so left.
What is disturbing is the fact that the common factors in this whole episode of violence is Dynamos and Highlanders and no other Premiership side.
Last year, the Premier Soccer League awarded the match to Bosso on a 3-0 scoreline and this year it seems Dynamos will be the beneficiaries.
These things have been going on for some time and it appears the fines, and the loss of points have failed to have an effect in curbing hooliganism.
Even more hurting is the fact that the ordinary football loving fan is being deprived of his money’s value by watching a match that ends prematurely.
More importantly is the fact that these matches are costing as much as $5 for the cheapest seat in the stadium, not a small figure when we also factor in transport costs.
What is also surprising is that there is no violence when Dynamos entertain Caps United and early this season a game involving the two attracted a crowd of about 30 000 people but there were no incidents of violence.
What is clearly evident is the fact that the rule that clubs are responsible for the behavior of their fans is failing to curb hooliganism.
The PSL and Zifa should have a relook at this rule and make sure that the real culprits are made to pay for their behavior and not the club per ser.
What is even more surprising is that images posted all over clearly exposed the Highlanders fans who led the mayhem at Barbourfields Stadium but only a handful have been arrested.
Arrests of the perpetrators of stadium violence can help deter others from following suit but this lack of action will see the hooligans returning to Barbourfields to cause more harm.
Highlanders itself as a club have an idea of who did what on that sunny afternoon but the club itself has not done or said anything about it.
They have a duty to protect their football loving, peaceful fans from hooligans and a ban from the stadium on these known unruly fans would not be a bad idea.
As we look forward to the future, we would love to see the police and other security agents in full force at our stadiums and throw behind bars these hooligans.
The police personnel at our football stadiums are being paid to do their job and not to enjoy the game and so we expect hooligans to be flashed out.
Players who incite violence too should not only be fined heavily but should also be suspended for a longer period so that they feel the pain of their actions.
Right now, we are following the proceedings of what happened on that September 9 day at Barbourfields Stadium and hope that proper action will be taken on those who caused the mayhem and later the abandonment of the match.
We need to deal with these hooligans decisively or else they will continue coming to the stadiums just to cause trouble.
- For your views, comments and suggestions mkariati@gmail.com or WhatsApp on 0773 266 779.