Football Chaos Could Very Easily Happen Here

[Lite Beer]

EDITORIAL

Football chaos could very easily happen here

The Nation

BANGKOK:-- Thailand shares some of the 'ingredients' that led to violence recently in Egypt

Crowd trouble following a shock soccer result. An ensuing riot. Lax stadium security. A country going through high political tension. Do these situations sound familiar? The violence that happened in Egypt at the end of a soccer match, which resulted in scores of deaths and hundreds of injuries, must serve as a serious warning to everyone involved with the booming Thai Premier League, which appears to have the ingredients for a similar disaster.

On the surface, the Egyptian tragedy had to do with sporting fanaticism. Extreme jubilation by the winning team's fans and shocked disbelief and anger of the opposite side may have contributed largely to the pitch invasion before everything went out of control. That would be the simplest explanation of why it happened. When the smoke lifted from the Port Said stadium, however, conspiracy theories overshadowed the politically unstable nation. There were claims the bloodshed was somehow pre-meditated for political purposes.

There will be finger-pointing, investigations that are unlikely to satisfy anyone or provide clear-cut answers to the question "Why?", heightened national tension and possibly more restrictions on activities that should not be restricted. Whether it was an "accident" that nobody wanted to happen, or something orchestrated by those with malicious intent, the Port Said incident will generate unpleasant repercussions which will affect a lot more Egyptians than just soccer fans.

People say politics should be separate from sport. But that is much easier said than done. "Since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, politics has entered every aspect of Egyptian life - even football. This is most evident in the Cairo derby, a game between arch-rivals Al Ahly and Zamalek," a report on The Guardian's website noted. Whether or not politics was behind the Port Said tragedy, it seems the issue can hardly avoid being politicised now. National tension or divide will likely deepen, after a soccer team that had not been supposed to lose did just that.

After the "uprising" last year that toppled a dictatorial regime, democracy has struggled to blossom in the Arab nation, where a power vacuum - or continued power struggles - led to unprecedented crime, lax security and confusing law enforcement between the police and the military. Political tension also found its way into sport, with soccer absorbing a lot of bad blood politics.

Thailand must look closely at this lesson, not least because of some striking similarities and clear warning signs that it wouldn't take much for a soccer game to trigger crowd violence. The Thai Premier League has enjoyed a phenomenal rise in popularity, but the dark side of that is the potential of zealous yet immature fans becoming a time-bomb. Add inadequate stadium security and seating set-ups that allow "closeness" between players and supporters, a formula intended to maximise excitement and make matches look great on TV, we have key elements of a similar man-made disaster.

So far, crowd violence at Thai soccer stadiums has been limited to bruises and bitter fan rivalry. Despite a leading figure in the political divide owning one of the biggest and most successful football teams, politics has yet to stamp its ugly face on the Thai Premier League. Fan violence, however, has been happening with worrying frequency, partly because clubs are reluctant to spend big on security measures. There were at least five big clashes last year and minor ones took place almost on a weekly basis. The Egyptian lesson has shown us how bad things can get if no proper precautions are taken.

We Thais, of all people, must know that the unthinkable, which could cause us regret for a long, long time, can always happen. Proper precaution, therefore, should not be limited to just building fences and hiring more guards.

-- The Nation 2012-02-05

[DP25]

With certain teams aligned with politicians wouldn't surprise me at all to see this kind of violence happen here

[noitom]

Politicians are now, as we speak, calculating their skim from soccer. If it supports added, rogue security, they will "assure" that "measures" are in place. Rogue security hired by soccer owners would be linked to politician or "big men" control. They would be hired on the basis that it's a "franchise" and they can operate on their own. That means commandeered fan detainments and shakedowns with corresponding "liberated" payoffs for release. On to the next victim. This is Thai style football security. It's a payback, skim franchise like everything else in Thailand.

[Thai at Heart]

Did the writer forget that in the last few years there has been just a little bit of civil disobedience, riot and open insurrection on the streets of Bangkok???????

If we don't act, football hooliganism may come to Bangkok????? Football hooliganism is the least of the worries in this country. How about worrying about the next coup, how many people may get shot by the army, how many MONTHS the city may be paralysed, how many weeks the airport may be occupied.

This guy is blind as well as wearing rosy tints

[whybother]

Did the writer forget that in the last few years there has been just a little bit of civil disobedience, riot and open insurrection on the streets of Bangkok???????

If we don't act, football hooliganism may come to Bangkok????? Football hooliganism is the least of the worries in this country. How about worrying about the next coup, how many people may get shot by the army, how many MONTHS the city may be paralysed, how many weeks the airport may be occupied.

This guy is blind as well as wearing rosy tints

Or it could have just kept to the issues of the potential for political violence between team supporters at sporting events.

[MikeOboe57]

Did the writer forget that in the last few years there has been just a little bit of civil disobedience, riot and open insurrection on the streets of Bangkok???????

If we don't act, football hooliganism may come to Bangkok????? Football hooliganism is the least of the worries in this country. How about worrying about the next coup, how many people may get shot by the army, how many MONTHS the city may be paralysed, how many weeks the airport may be occupied.

This guy is blind as well as wearing rosy tints

How about worrying about this governments blatant incompetence, the inevitable next flooding, the sabotage of the already poor education system by issuing tablet toys to 6 year old kids, rising inflation by idiotic populist measures or the economic decline due to waning investor confidence in this proxy government?

[rkidlad]

And not only that, it might lead to people not caring so much about being from Thailand, but caring more about being from their town or city.

People from Buriram for example, might be more proud of being from Buriram and begin to think 'what do I have in common with people from Bkk?'

Scary times indeed if you're a rich ultra nationalist.

[cdnvic]

Wouldn't this require Thailand to have competitive sports?

[jeffcool]

Wouldn't this require Thailand to have competitive sports?

Scamming, Corruption, Prostitution are not competitive sport then????

[Sunderland]

Wouldn't this require Thailand to have competitive sports?

Whilst Thailand may not be world beaters in many sports, they are just as competitive as anyone else. You should get out more often and observe.

[Thai at Heart]

Did the writer forget that in the last few years there has been just a little bit of civil disobedience, riot and open insurrection on the streets of Bangkok???????

If we don't act, football hooliganism may come to Bangkok????? Football hooliganism is the least of the worries in this country. How about worrying about the next coup, how many people may get shot by the army, how many MONTHS the city may be paralysed, how many weeks the airport may be occupied.

This guy is blind as well as wearing rosy tints

How about worrying about this governments blatant incompetence, the inevitable next flooding, the sabotage of the already poor education system by issuing tablet toys to 6 year old kids, rising inflation by idiotic populist measures or the economic decline due to waning investor confidence in this proxy government?

All very relevant, but when you worry about hooliganism as some sort of civil unrest, it pales into insignificance with what has been going on in Thailand in the last 5 years.

[AZBill]

We are talking about a country that can't even get its national team in the world cup right? A riot hardly seems worth the effort! It would be like the US rioting because our favorite ping pong team got beat!

[gopnarak]

Similar kind of violence would be how the students of different schools attacking each other.