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Re-inventing the wheel?
During the Carling Cup third round match between my Liverpool and Milwall on Tuesday night at the New Den there was a fracas in the stands reportedly caused by taunts over a disaster in which a total of 96 supporters died after they were crushed at Sheffield’s Hillsborough stadium during the FA Cup semifinal between the Mighty Reds and Nottingham Forest in April 1989.
As the Kop, as Liverpool fans are called, charged towards the home fans, police and stewards intervened and in the process arrested four fans — two on either side. The situation was contained and those in the wrong will surely get their dues.
In Malawi, where the state of hooliganism although worrisome, is nowhere closer to English hooliganism, an incident like the one at the New Den would have seen tear-gas being released, injuries through an unnecessary stampede and no arrests. Of course, more of the same next time.
Do we need the task force that has been set up to tackle the issue of violence at football grounds? It really depends. I have read about the measures they agreed on, like the banning of alcohol sales within and around stadia, searching of fans entering stadia and others.
That list sounds more like the same measures we agreed on during a crowd control workshop organised by my previous employers, the British High Commission, at Le Meridien Mount Soche Hotel in 2002. There is a document that was produced at the end of that workshop a copy of which is gathering dust on my desk — and several other desks and shelves, I presume.
So unless the task force came up with something new, or a diagnosis of why those agreed measures were not implemented last time and how to deal with those obstacles, I feel we are only re-inventing the wheel. What we need now is action because we already know what needs to be done.
Of course, I like the tough talk that has come from the police. It is quite reassuring but only if you are hearing it for the first time. Unfortunately, in my case, it all sounds familiar. The only difference is the person saying it!
The problem with the police is that they are too reactionary to be taken seriously. They wait for a major disaster that even attracts the attention of the powers that be for them to take action and then fail to sustain the momentum until the next disaster. That has a name but it is certainly not professionalism.
If I am failing to conceal my emotions on the matter, it is because I was a victim myself after the Bakili Bullets-Enyimba game when my car became a victim of stone-throwing thugs. Up to now I do not understand how I managed to emerge from the barrage of stones with only a few scratches.
So Honourable Chimunthu Banda can go ahead with his task force but his success will not be judged by the number of committees he sets up or the decrees he issues, including the ridiculous one on everyone paying for matches. He will be judged by the results of those moves. Best wishes.
Feedback:
e-mail: atukula@hotmail.com, gtukula@yahoo.co.uk
gtukula@nationmalawi.com
cell phone:
(+265) (0)9 958 696 or (+265) (0) 8 825 263
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