It would have been one of the best super nawettan championship organised,
but it is a shame that another final in the same competition failed to
conclude.
Bakau, one
of the dominant forces in Gambian football were banned for a whole year after
their fans halted a final match against the Serekunda East super nawettan team
in a game played at the Serekunda West mini-stadium and were just making their
return this year after their place was temporarily occupied by guest team, BEM.
Upon their
return, Bakau were one of the revelations of this year’s tournament that saw a
record number of 12 participating teams and were tipped to win the crown ahead
of its Saturday final with Brikama.
For much
part of the game, that was never on the cards as Brikama dominated and rose to
a 2-0 second half lead only for Bakau to peg them back and draw the scores at
2-2. With time running out, the game was poised for the gruesome post-match
penalty shoot-out before a controversial call allowed the Sateba boys to
restore their lead, much to the disbelief of thousands of spectators inside the
Serekunda East mini-stadium.
This however
provoked the whole melee which caused the game to be called off after the
officials had to spend several minutes inside the pitch before they were
escorted into their dressing rooms by the Police Intervention team at the game.
A Daily
Observer photographer got beaten while another reporter from the Point
newspaper got a phone taken away from her. But the trouble could have been
avoided if the right measures were taken and from the match officials to the
Police Intervention team and the Bakau fans, each has contributed in one way or
the other to the melee.
Officials
Having
surrendered a two-goal advantage, Brikama restored their lead with time running
out and on course to win their first super nawettan title that has eluded them
for all these years. The manner in which they scored to take a 3-2 lead in the
closing minutes of the first half was controversial but the call made by
referee Bakary Papa Gassama was right. Having come close to stealing the title
themselves, a Bakau player was lying down in pain inside the Brikama penalty
area after colliding with the keeper.
The Brikama
net tender kicked the ball away for the player to receive medical attention
only for right-back Foday Saidy to stop the ball from leaving the pitch. He
pushed the ball for few meters and had a look at the referee twice before
deciding to embark on a mazy run on the right which resulted to a fabulous
goal. Bakau cried foul play with the decision by the referee to allow play to
continue because they felt it should’ve been fair play. But fair play is only
optional and not mandatory, so despite the fact that it was a brave call, there
was nothing wrong with the decision.
But not
everyone is a master of the laws of the game and I was equally embarrassed when
a national team player sitting not far away from the press area argues that the
referee was wrong to allow play to continue. But having said that, the referee
could’ve stopped play in a situation where the majority doesn’t know much from
the laws of the game.
Security
After that
goal, I was sitting close to a colleague whom I told that the game would end in
trouble and his response was yes there should not be but there will be because
the fans behind us think that it was mandatory of the referee to halt play for
their player to get medical attention. Before I could even finish my statement,
a Bakau fan beat the heavy security and jumped over the perimeter fence to
intrude the pitch. He was chased by a police officer who hit him with a pipe on
his head and he lay down unconscious straight away.
As soon as
the police hit the pitch intruder, the whole Bakau bench rushed into the pitch
and their fans immediately followed by throwing missiles into the field. Stones
were pouring down like rainfall and everyone inside the perimeter fence had to
rush and seek refuge in the middle of the pitch. It took the police several
minutes before they could have control over the situation.
What the
police officer who flogged the supporter should have done was to get hold of
the boy and take him away for the game to continue and then later press
possible charges against him at the court of law. Every time in international
football we have always seen on television that fans will intrude the pitch at
some point but they never got beaten and the most recent was in the latest instalment
of the Manchester derby when a City supporter was charged for intruding the
pitch and is currently standing trial in the United Kingdom.
Bakau fans
Having
caused their team to not participate in the competition last season because of
a similar incident a couple of years ago, many taught that lessons were learnt
by the Bakau supporters but no, they have not and their actions are becoming
unacceptable because hooliganism is the order of the day whenever they are
playing. They were fined heavily by the organising committee for the “unruly”
behaviour of their fans earlier in the competition.
Despite the
fact that one of them got beaten they have no right to throw missiles on the
pitch the same as the intruder had no right to invade the pitch. They even
threw missiles at the VIP section of the stadium where you have the minister of
Youth and Sports, Alieu Kebba K Jammeh amongst others seated and even clapping
to urge the players to accept the spirit of fair play. Disappointment was
written all over his face because it was a very big sabotage from the Bakau
supporters.
After they
were driven away from the stadium, they went into the main road by mounting
roadblocks and throwing wastes on the road which has nothing to do with the
game. Eyewitnesses that spoke to the Daily Observer said they even had their
vehicles stoned at by the angry Bakau supporters before they themselves came to
their senses and left the place but up until mid-night, you could still spot
broken blocks on the highway. Just few hours before kick-off, I was advocating
on national television that fans should respect the spirit of fair play and
accept defeat in good faith with two other colleagues but our advice fell on
deaf ears.
Bakau technical staff and players
In that
fateful final in 2009, some Bakau players got involved and were dealt with
severely by the organising committee. But despite their fans’ failure to learn,
the players have as they comport themselves very well in the middle of the
melee despite the anger, frustration and disappointment.
The head
coach Abdoulie Bojang, who is always known for his discipline was seen and
heard asking his players to stay calm. Lie and his technical team should be
commended for dealing with the situation maturely and it is a shame that they
are threatened by another severe punishment because of the unacceptable
behaviour of their fans.
Journalist got beaten
In its
efforts to restore order, the police were left with no choice but to throw tear
gas and when a Daily Observer photographer, Nfamara Drammeh, took out his
camera to take pictures of the scenes, he heard an order given to beat him and
he was hit twice by a pipe and his hands had to take a bitter blow when he used
them to protect his camera. Another reporter from the Point, Fatoumatta Jawara
also had her IPhone 4 taken away from her as she was taking pictures and up
until the time I left the stadium, she was crying like a baby as she could not
find the phone.
It is the
second time that Nfamara got beaten after he had his own share in that Bakau
violence just executing his duties. Another Daily Observer reporter, Alieu
Ceesay was also left in severe pains a week ago when another violence this time
involving Sukuta fans erupted that saw him got hit by a stone on the head. This
latest ordeal prompted a very angry reaction from a couple of reporters who
wanted to fight back but my colleagues and I had to calm them down.
The way forward
Despite the
ugly scenes at the end of the game, the fact should not be taken away that it
was a very successful super nawettan competition. But a dialogue is the way
forward from all stakeholders in order to stop a future occurrence.
Football
administrators, referees, players, security, fans and journalists should come
together frequently and interact to explain to each other their roles and the
laws of the game. It will help everyone to know where limits start and end and
unless that is not done, this kind of situations might not be far away from us.
Author: Baboucarr Camara
No comments:
Post a Comment