MAY 20 — The recent fan riot at the second leg semifinal between Terengganu and Lions XII from Singapore has tarnished the Malaysian FA Cup.
Terengganu fans turned violent after their team failed to qualify for final. It was reported that the fans started rioting, including throwing chairs, setting cars on fire and attacking a police vehicle after the referee denied Terengganu's fourth goal for offside, when Terengganu was leading the Lions XII 3-2. It has gone far beyond sports, it is an act of crime. The police later arrested 25 for investigation and two were tested positive for drugs.
It is a pity as the riot has not only caused property damage and affected social stability, but also tarnished the country's image.
Fan riots are a kind of humiliation. Sports, after all, is more than winning and losing. We are talking about sportsmanship here. It is of course good to win, but violence to vent anger and disappointment should not follow after losing a match.
Those who truly love football will never bring violence into the stadium. Bluntly speaking, those making troubles are just fake football fans who commit violent crimes in the name of losing matches.
No one can forever win in sports and therefore, we must get prepared to accept defeat. In other words, players and fans must have sportsmanship to accept and respect competition results.
Unfortunately, the recent riot has reflected the low quality and lack of sportsmanship of many football fans in the country. The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and related authorities must take the problem seriously and seek ways to improve the quality of fans to prevent more similar violent incidents.
In fact, it is not the first fan riot in the country. In 2009, there was also an outbreak of violence at the FA Cup first leg semifinal between Kelantan and Negri Sembilan. Players assaulted the referee while fans set a police vehicle on fire, and a few motorcycles and cars were also damaged.
Fan riots must not be ignored. The police needs to take stern actions against fans making troubles, while drawing a plan to deal with such riots to prevent the violent acts from rooting in the country.
We should learn a lesson from the Cairo Stadium football riot in 2012 killing at least 75 people and injuring a thousand others, and prevent such fatal riots from taking place in the country.
Football field should be a place to hold fair competition and demonstrate sportsmanship, instead of violence. — Sin Chew Daily
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
