Report
Beautiful game mired in controversy
Date: 11 October 2006
By: Mohamed Niyaz
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 Security officials and New Radiant officials face the angered supporters |
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To replay the match abandoned due to spectators' disturbances, this time without them, leave lot of questions unanswered.
Whose fault it was that the match was abandoned? Referee? New Radiant Supporters? Or players. Was it referee's poor decision-making that lead to one of the biggest fracas in Maldivian football history. Or was it the overzealous supporters' (if you can say it was New Radiant supporters, well on a neutral ground) unmitigated anger over one of his subsequent decision, as what was thought to be a biased decision.
Tell me which ever decision by referee was ever unbiased? The moment he whistle for a foul the team which errs surrounds the referee for mercy, more often than not refuting the decision. The team or rather the player which suffered the foul almost shed crocodile tears; feigns injury to reap maximum benefit. An emotionally challenged referee sometime has no choice but to book him blighted by the collective hands that go up in disapproval. Now we come to the melting pot. If the referee makes a rash decision ignoring the tempo, or for that matter the importance of the match, better still sways to supporters' pressure he'll only invite troubles. That is when we requires good referee for pressure matches, somebody who can dictate the tempo of the match with good precision.
Just one decision was enough and that's the end of match on that night. This is not the first time a bad decision by referee cost a team a what is perceived to be fortune, and not the fist time in Maldives. Not in Europe and America. And it'll not be! So why is the fuss all about?
Is it the political discord and hatred brewing across the community that is getting an upper hand here as well? Or the same fringe elements that always exist here which just ran out of gas. Whatever it is, it is just not all right, not what happened on that night, a night that will be mired in controversy for years to come.
Now to replay the match without supporters - without the very people who breathes life into a game – is purely unjust! Where was Victory's fault not to allow their supporters? Why should they suffer when they are in no way responsible for the fiasco? Why can't they be allowed to cheer their time, afterall most of the hardcore faithfuls sacrifice a huge chunk of their earnings to finance the team?
No matter what all that has transpired in the few days has mired this beautiful game in controversy, what with the recent match-fixing allegation in wake burning red-hot.
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User Comments |
"Where was Victory's fault not to allow their supporters? Why should they suffer when they are in no way responsible for the fiasco?"
niyaz how can u say that victory is innocent. how can u prove that in this poit, the victory players did involved in heating up the fans, didt they?
so better write articles on a natural ground!! - bluedevils
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