Hooliganism is becoming increasingly prevalent in Nigerian league matches. But how many match officials and players must be attacked before the handlers come down hard on erring clubs, to say enough is enough? CHRISTIAN OKPARA writes.
The domestic football league in most developed countries provides an avenue for football fans and families to relax and enjoy their favourite pastime.
In many of these countries, families plan their weekends around games involving their favourite teams because they find the match arenas a conducive and safe place to enjoy the game.
In England, for instance, people see football as a social activity that brings them together to enjoy banter and good food while watching the spectacle unfold.
According to a recent report by footballgroundmap.com, the mass of people streaming into the stadiums all come there with the same purpose – to cheer for their favourite teams and support them when they are less fortunate.
These fans create football communities that support their favourite teams, and even when they are as raucous as they can get, they always yearn to be part of their respective team community.
Nigeria once had a thriving football league culture, where supporters formed communities and travelled with their home teams even for away games.
In the early days of the Nigerian league football in the 1970s, such teams as Raccah Rovers of Kano, Enugu Rangers, IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan, Mighty Jets of Jos, Stationery Stores of Lagos, ACB and NEPA of Lagos, Bendel Insurance of Benin, as well as Spartans of Owerri, had thriving fan bases, that followed them through their travels in the league without stepping out of the bounds of decorum to foment trouble.
But in recent years, some misguided fans have turned league venues into war zones, where families no longer feel safe.
Recently, NPFL followers were stunned when news spread that a Barau FC player was badly injured by outraged Katsina United fans, who ran onto the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium pitch to unleash mayhem on the visiting team for daring to score the equalising goal in a Week 12 game that they wanted the home team to win at all costs.
Although no life was lost, Barau FC player, Nana Abraham, was seriously injured in the neck when he was hit by a dangerous object hurled into the pitch.
As punishment for bringing the league to disrepute, its organisers sanctioned Katsina United for various breaches of its framework and rules, including the imposition of a N9 million fine for the various offences concerning unsporting behaviour and security breaches.
In addition, the club was banished to the New Jos Township Stadium, where they would play their home matches behind closed doors till further notice.
The Katsina incident happened barely three weeks after the NPFL slammed heavy sanctions on Kano Pillars, including a N9.5 million fine, deduction of three points and three goals, and an indefinite closure of the Sani Abacha Stadium, following violent scenes during their Match Day Eight fixture against Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan.
The NPFL also ordered the club to identify and prosecute those responsible for the pitch invasion and to submit a new, comprehensive security framework within seven working days.
Worried by increasing violence in match venues, stakeholders say that the NPFL, perhaps, needs to rethink its disciplinary actions as the current method doesn’t appear to be enough of a deterrent, having successfully forced families to keep away from stadiums that have become scary.
The stakeholders also allege that the league organisers are not serious about enforcing the penalties they impose on erring clubs.
According to them, apart from banishing erring teams from their home grounds, these clubs are sometimes not compelled to pay the huge fines. They believe that the problem will persist if offenders are continuously treated with kid gloves, as has been the practice.
The immediate past head coach of NPFL side Warri Wolves, Napoleon Aluma, stated that hooliganism still persists in Nigeria because the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the NPFL have been lenient with clubs and have shied away from enforcing their rules.
Aluma said that the type of fan violence witnessed in the NPFL cannot occur in the English league due to the strict adherence to the laws governing fan behaviour in and around match venues.
He said: “In England, the clubs, players and officials are aware of the magnitude of the punishment they will face if they breach the peace during matches. When the NFF decides to do the needful, I think all these things will be gone from the league.”
On the claims by some clubs that they do not control the fans, some of whom allegedly become violent when the result of a match does not favour their predictions in the thriving sport betting industry, Aluma said: “The question here is, are we the only people who are into betting? To the best of my knowledge, betting on games has been prevalent in Europe and the rest of the world for decades before Nigeria became involved. It still boils down to the federation failing to put its foot down.”
“Also, clubs cannot claim to be handicapped because we were all in this world when England had the most dangerous hooligans in the world. But England was forced to arrest the situation when English teams were expelled from UEFA competitions.
“If you recall, at the Italia ’90 World Cup, England was sent to an island for their games. It was that bad. But when the United Kingdom put their act together, things changed. Today, the English Premier League is the most-watched league in the world.
“It will interest you to know that there is no perimeter fence in any of the Premier League stadiums. They don’t cage fans as if they are animals. Have you heard of any hooligans in England in the last 20 or so years? Things changed when people started being jailed for misbehaving at match venues. Some unruly fans are serving life bans from going into stadiums in England. These fans cannot get anywhere near 100 metres to a stadium, or they go straight to jail.”
Aluma said that hooliganism persists in Nigerian football because the sport is viewed as a recreational activity rather than the big business it is in other parts of the world.
The former assistant coach of Enyimba of Aba said that the incidents in Katsina and Kano would persist as long as the authorities continue to treat hooliganism with leniency.
“Look at the punishment meted out to Katsina United. They were fined N9 million and banned from playing games at home. Is that punishment? That’s no punishment.
“I remember that a similar thing happened in Lafia when Nasarawa United hosted Plateau United last season. Hooliganism is moving from one club to another, and if nothing is done to stop it, soon the few people that brave the odds to watch games will stop going there.”
Like Aluma, Lobi Stars Media Officer, Emmanuel Ujah, identifies inadequate punishment on erring clubs and the NPFL’s inability to enforce its laws as the major contributors to hooliganism in the league.
Ujah said that banishing an erring club to a neutral stadium for a few weeks would not curb the menace, adding that stakeholders must agree to enforce the law, regardless of which club is involved in the issue.
“If any team breaches the rule, that team should be made to face heavy punishment. Why should anybody jump into the field of play and then unleash mayhem on any player or official? That is a barbaric behaviour, and that fan should be made to face the full weight of the law. If not, some other persons would do worse than that.”
The Anambra FA Chairman, Chikelue Iloenyosi, who acknowledged that the Gbenga Elegbeleye-led NPFL board has done a lot to grow the league, however, believes that the league body and the NFF still have much to do to make the league attractive to football lovers and bring them back to the stands.
The former Super Eagles’ defender said that hooliganism in Nigerian football would only end when perpetrators are identified, prosecuted and jailed, if found guilty.
“Once a fan identifies with a club and causes trouble because of that club, the club should bear responsibility and be punished for whatever that fan does.
“These clubs know their fans and, in some cases, instigate these fans to cause trouble when a game does not favour them.
“In England, when fans fight and disturb the peace, the fans are arrested and prosecuted. The supporters are aware of the risks and even collaborate with the English Premier League to ensure the stands are safe, as it is a billion-pound business. It is straightforward.”
Defending the NPFL’s handling of the troubles in the league, the league body’s Chief Operating Officer, Davidson Owumi, said what the body is battling with is hydra-headed. He said some people who are not receptive to the changes in the domestic football have been working to derail the process.
Speaking on a radio programme anchored by veteran journalist, Dr Mitchel Obi, the former Enugu Rangers’ General Manager said that the NPFL has been striving to sanitise the game “and set it back on track to ensure that sanity prevails in the league.”
He said that the Katsina and Kano issues are isolated cases, adding that teams no longer fear the unknown when they travel for away games.
“We are doing our best to make sure that everybody comes to the same standard. By the grace of God, we are going to defeat all the bloodthirsty idiots that are out there.
“Some people don’t want to embrace the new horizon of Nigerian football… they still want to go back to the old ways of doing things. We are past that stage now. And what we’re trying to teach them is that Nigerian football is no longer what it used to be. You do anyhow, you see anyhow.”
