ADDIS ABABA – What a curse! What a curse! Shouted one spectator at the Addis Ababa stadium after he witnessed the Friday, March 1, violent disturbance between Saint George and Coffee fans.
The match was not part of the season’s Ethiopian Premier League games. But rather the ugly spectacle of fan violence erupted during the fund raising match for the Grand Renaissance Dam that has been under construction over the Nile River, known as Abay River inside Ethiopia. Why and how the violence disturbance happened? On Friday there were two friendly matches at the Addis Ababa stadium. The first was between Coffee and Sidama Coffee and the second was between St. George and Adama City. When the first match drew to a close, the St. George and Coffee fans began exchanging bad words with each other.
Few expected that the scenario would reach to such damaging consequences. When words were transcended in to stone throwing the score was level at 1-1. The play was interrupted. Unexpectedly Coffee players walked out of the pitch. That means Coffee were automatically conceded defeat as per the regulation of FIFA.
The violence took a different picture. Stone throwing continued in an alarming intensity. The security forces were not able to control. Many were hurt but casualty was not reported. Property were damaged over 30 people were reportedly injured.
One may be in a position to explain the disturbance if the matches were part Ethiopian Premier League schedule.
What does it mean to violently disturb the peaceful pitch during fund raising games? That was the source of bewilderment.
The clash was indeed surprising. The game is the fund raising one. What will happen if the matches were the premier league ones that reached at the critical stage? As it is known the re are times for teams to be put in a do or die situation. If violence erupts at this sensitive time, it is understood. This time the play was a friendly one. To many in Ethiopia the scene during the derby match between Saint George and Coffee has always been tense. This is understandable because of the rivalry between the two teams is a public knowledge.
Hooliganism is deeply rooted with European football fans in particular England’s fans. English fans abroad, whether of clubs or country, have a lengthy rap sheet and the nadir came at the 1985 European Cup final when Liverpool supporters charged at Juventus followers inside the Belgian national stadium, Heysel. There were 39 deaths and the ramifications, which saw the country’s clubs banned from European football for five years, were severe.
But still, episodes of hooliganism would return periodically — usually during tournaments in Europe. During the 1998 World Cup, riots between English and Tunisian supporters on the same streets requested compensation for the city. Two years later there were problems at Euro 2000, held in Holland and Belgium, with over 500 arrests after rioting in Brussels and Charleroi before a game in Germany.
England were threatened with elimination themselves that year; the 2006 World Cup brought fresh trouble, though, with one incident seeing 122 arrested in Stuttgart.
Europe has now controlled hooliganism by and large by imposing the combination of stern penalty and orientation.
There has been security camera in every stadium to identify the wrong doer and make the offender responsible for what he did in the episode.
In our case there is no camera fixed at the stadium. Why the country’s football governing body fail to do so, it is hard to explain. The security forces and the football community must push the federation to install security camera at the stadium, at least to identify the offenders.
The EFF strongly warned that all sides taking part in the competition not to involve in any kind of violence in or outside of the stadium in a gathering of all stakeholders just days before the start of the seasons competition.
The EFF by then said the punishment for violence will include suspension and point reduction besides financial punishment.
Unless this warning is supported by action, installing camera, the problem will remain as is in the days ahead.
The Ethiopian Herald March 5, 2019
BY SOLOMON BEKELE
