Fighting soccer hooliganism

Fighting soccer hooliganism

We do not doubt that the State Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Hayono Isman, meant well when he urged that soccer hooligans be punished with severe penalties -- even by using the anti-subversion law if necessary. And given the growing brutality of those hooligans, perhaps there are quite a number of us who might tend to agree with the minister.

The phenomenon of soccer hooliganism is of course not new. Hooliganism among soccer fans took its heaviest toll more than 10 years ago, when more than 30 fans died -- most of them Italian -- in what has since been known as the Heysel Stadium tragedy in Belgium.

That was in 1983, when Italy's Juventus team met Liverpool of England in a European championship match. As a result of the incident England was banned from playing on the continent for several years. The public outcry and the harsh punishment led the English government to use stricter measures to eliminate such unruly behavior among soccer fans, and as a result fewer soccer incidents were recorded in the following years.

Considering that background, it is of course sad to see that, of late, such bad manners among fans seems to have overshadowed almost all major soccer matches in this country. The brawling among supporters at matches of the new Indonesian League climaxed in tragedy two weeks ago, when a Persebaya (Surabaya) supporter, Suhermansyah, was trampled to death during a riot after a match against host PSIM at the Mandala Krida stadium in Yogyakarta. It was the third such riot within a year at that stadium.

Correctly, Minister Hayono Isman was quick to condemn the incident and suggest that the three-month-old league competition be halted. He was also reported to have suggested that the country's anti-subversion law, which is normally used only in the gravest cases threatening the nation's stability, be applied against soccer hooligans.

To this, the national soccer governing body, PSSI, through its secretary, retorted that it already has a book of rules that could restrain soccer hooligans.

An adviser to the regional branch of the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) was also against the minister's idea, arguing that to use the anti-subversion law to check soccer hooliganism would be like acting like a father who punishes his children severely for any wrongdoing.

In comparison: The Italian government decided not to allow the Italian national league to organize competitions for the duration of one day -- Sunday Feb. 5 -- following the fatal stabbing of an Italian soccer fan before the Sunday league match between European champion AC Milan and Genoa. Genoa fan Vincenzo Spagnolo, 24, was mortally wounded before the start of Sunday's game when he was set upon and stabbed outside the northwestern city's soccer stadium.

But while the Italian government was strict in its decision and was backed by the national league administrators, our sports minister's threat to halt the league's competitions received mixed reactions. In certain cases, in this country as well as elsewhere, bad refereeing has been the main cause of the trouble. At the same time it should be remembered that whatever one may think of the incidents, soccer matches, like the games played in many other sports, are indeed places to express one's emotions. Under such circumstances individuals often behave in ways they would never display in their daily lives.

One not less important point one could make is whether threatening soccer hooligans with the anti-subversion law will have the desired impact. After all, even the death penalty has not wiped out crime. Of course we are grateful that the authorities seem to be taking soccer hooliganism seriously. At the same time, however, it seems to us that all too often we tend to be tempted to seek an easy way out of problems without giving serious consideration to the question of appropriateness or proportion.