29 March - 4 April 2001
Issue No.527
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 29 March - 4 April 2001 Issue No.527 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
The latest in sleaze
Chairs raining down on the basketball court. Head injuries to soccer referees and linesmen. Profanities spewing forth from overzealous fans and obscene gestures making their way into our living rooms, live and in living colour. Welcome to Egypt's new unsportsman-like world.
Crowd trouble at sports events has been a predominantly European and South American problem for years but of late it has invaded our shores. Last week, a linesman in the Ahli-Misri cup tie in Port Said was cut on the head after being nailed by an object, most probably a stone, thrown from the stands. The incident comes on the heels of a more serious rock-throwing affair, in a league football game, in which the referee was forced to call the match off at the half after leaving the field with a bloodied head, the result of a stone let loose from the crowds sitting in the bleachers.
And last Saturday, Alexandria basketball fans ran riot in Cairo's indoor hall after a series of officiating calls went against their team. They uprooted dozens of the arena's plastic seats, hurling them onto the court. Police in full riot gear had to be called in but failed to stem the violence which forced the cancellation of the game with over four minutes left.
All these incidents were not free of the ubiquitous swear words and curses that rang out and were heard on air by millions of viewers.
Hooliganism is a relatively new phenomenon in Egypt. There have, of course, been ugly incidents before. The football league of 1971 was cut short after fans ran amuck on the streets, burning parked cars and laying waste to streets and roads adjacent to Cairo Stadium following the famed derby between Ahli and Zamalek. Later that same decade, the league was again stopped prematurely after a stone flattened a Mehalla footballer.
Perhaps the most infamous incident involved a 1993 World Cup qualifier that had to be replayed, with disastrous consequences for Egypt. Egypt had beaten Zimbabwe in Cairo and was on its way to the last qualifying stage. But injuries to Zimbabwe's goalkeeper and coach, courtesy of stones cascading from the stands, forced a replay which knocked Egypt out.
Albeit serious incidents, they were isolated and far between. But not anymore. The rate of such occurrences has increased manifold in Egyptian fields and courts. And how to prevent them or at least reduce their number is receiving extensive study but few real answers.
Part of the problem is the lack of respect for sport, the inability to fully grasp its meaning and aims and the fact that there will always be winners and losers.
Another headache comes from the athletes themselves, for many times they are the real culprits, exhorting their fans to rebel and whipping them up into a frenzy if they are on the losing side. Some coaches, in fact, have been seen doing the same thing or abetting rabble-rousing players.
Punitive measures have included sizeable fines and some matches are replayed on neutral ground without spectators. But these penalties have not been a discouraging factor as had been expected.
Wayward fans and players need to be nipped in the bud, either at club or federation level. Else we will soon have a reputation best reserved for other countries where hooliganism is commonplace.
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