KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — At football matches where the Malaysian team takes on a foreign team, the game venue like Bukit Jalil National Stadium is always crowded with legions of football fans who come to show their support for the national team.

The sea of yellow jerseys with the black sleeve band or the blue jerseys with the red and white strip on the sleeves, shows the unity among football fans in showing the support for the teams playing on the field.

Unfortunately, when it comes to teams from the states or clubs within the country, the supporters seem to behave differently.

The unruly behaviour is not only limited to the supporters, but extends to the coaches and team officials on the bench. While the referee may have blown the final whistle, the destructive behaviour of the fans continues outside the stadiums leading to ugly incidents.

Starting with small provocations like mocking and ‘booing’ the opponent team and their supporters, it turns into hooliganism where overzealous supporters light up fireworks, throw water bottles and stones into the pitch, and even brawl leading to injuries.

Once again Malaysia witnessed this destructive behaviour of football fans after the match FA cup match between Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) and Pahang ended at the Stadium Tan Sri Hassan Yunus last night. It was virtually a repeat of what happened during the Super League match between the same two teams at Stadium Darul Makmur, Kuantan on February 7, 2014.

The question is why do the team supporters behave in this manner? Is it true that they lack maturity and get easily carried away by emotions and parochial sentiments?

Supporters must act rationally, avoid hooliganism

National football legend, Reduan Abdullah noted that while the parochial  sentiment is crucial in providing the motivation and drive for the players, yet it has to be in line with the spirit of sportsmanship.

“Parochial sentiments is good and plays a role in the development of football in the state but one should not get too obsessed to the extent one cannot accept the outcome and get carried away with emotions... does not matter if it is the supporters, players or even coaches.

“It is nothing out of the ordinary to be jeered or mocked by the opponent’s side... in fact even the players are treated the same. Football elsewhere is also the same... so face it rationally,” he said to Bernama.

He said football hooliganism involving some overzealous supporters would only derail the sport’s development.

Reduan stressed that this negative attribute has to be eradicated and this could only be done if the supporters avoid provocation and accept the game outcome rationally.

“We want to see the quality of football improve but there are those overzealous supporters who over react and resort to actions that does not augur well for the sports,” said Reduan, who opined that the football realm in the country is showing great improvements.

Overzealousness dangerous

Universiti Malaya’s psychiatric consultant Dr Muhammad Muhsin Ahmad Zahari said that while football could help unleash patriotic fervour transcending ideologies and races, yet overzealousness and fanatism on a particular team could prove to be destructive.

The extreme parochial sentiments is not called for and is not in line with the spirit of sportsmanship, in fact it is no different than racism.

“When the team loses, they feel disappointed and depressed. When the team wins they exhibit their arrogance to the extent it incenses the losing side.

“When there is overzealousness, there is hardly any control of the emotions... and when the pressure builds up during the match, one loses the rationality and acts to the extremes,” he said.

There is nothing to gain from overzealousness

A blog writer, Zailee Mat Noor, 25, noted that the parochial sentiment that one should support any team as long as the team is from one’s state is not right and indicated that the football fans have yet to mature and do not value sportsmanship.

“Football is something that does not call for sentiments other than the sports sentiment.”
He added that the popularity of the social media also drew a wedge between the supporters of different teams and incensed their emotions. 

“As for example if they see the supporters of their team being beaten by the supporters of another team in YouTube, they are bound to react,” said Zailee, who blogs at sokernet.blogspot.com.

Instil discipline and respect

Zailee noted Malaysians have to be educated continuously on the right spirit of sportsmanship with the emphasis on discipline and respect, right from young.

“The best way is through education and vigorous campaigns. As for example the ‘Love Football Stop Hooliganism’ campaign launched by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) two months ago, but seems to have been totally ignored.

“While hooliganism could not be eradicated completely, what more in identifying those behind hooliganism, but can be prevented through more stringent approaches like in Europe, where CCTVs and guards keep an eye during every match,” he said.

As for a football fan Noor Rusydiah Abd Ghani, 23, a Universiti Selangor undergraduate, she prefers to watch football matches on television fearing for her safety in the stadium.

“As for a woman like me and children it’s better to watch from home as anything could happen looking at the boiling parochial sentiments… and by not going to the stadium does not mean ones does not support the sports or the team,” she said.

Tackle unwanted incidence

Meanwhile, a football fan, Sivan John, 34, an insurance executive said although in recent times there have been some unwanted incident in the domestic league, he still believes that the situation had not reached into an endemic level like in some countries.

“But we should also be cautious that these sorts of things need to be tackled in the right way as there is a potential it could escalate to another level... we can’t just sit back and hope for the problem to just go away,” he said.

Sivan said there is no place for hooliganism, racism and violence in football and anyone who preached this sort of behavior should not be allowed into any stadium because they give the game a bad name.

“We also must create awareness on why it is important that real fans protect the game from unwanted issues or incidence since this our game and it is also the people’s game.  

“Football is a beautiful game and game should always be fun therefore it is our responsibility to keep the beautiful game as beautiful as it is,” he remarked. — Bernama