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.