Sportsmanship

On July 4, 1994, many TV viewers were shocked when it was announced that Escobar, one of Columbia's football players, was shot to death just because he made the mistake of accidentally kicking the ball into his own goal. A spectator of such football matches can get emotionally carried away, but to kill a player for his error, I cannot find the right word to express my feelings toward such an act of atrocity. People seem to forget that football/soccer is just a game, surely it is not a matter of life and death!

Then there is a country in Europe which worships their football players like heroes if they win a match, but treat them like dirt when they lose, pelting them with rotten eggs or tomatoes. I believe such an attitude is downright immature.

Again on July 6, 1994, the morning program of TV showed Dutch football fans in The Hague celebrating the Dutch team's victory over the Irish team the night before. However, in their exuberance they rampaged on the streets and some of them began breaking shop windows and looting. Those football fans even fought with the police who tried to temper their exuberance. A strange way of expressing their joy!

I am a football fan and played football half a century ago, but I never thought a game of football could cost a player his life just because he erroneously kicked the ball into his own goal. This is preposterous, to say the least.

A. DJUANA

Jakarta