By Fredrick Nadduli,
Just when the football fraternity was beginning to believe that violence in stadia was a thing of the past, long dead and buried, the ugly vice reared its massive head, yet again.
For the umpteenth time, a football match that had all the makings of a vintage family outing turned on its head, when a section of Leopards fans appeared apparently unable to stomach their team’s inevitable defeat.
To them, the only way to save face was to cause mayhem, confusion and ultimately abandonment, all of which they executed with deadly precision.
CLUB IN THE RED
What will worry Kenyans is that this unruly lot was intent to spoil the Sunday afternoon show come what may.
Their mission was pre-planned, and the skeleton security apparatus did not help much.
Here is a team that is in the financial red, struggling to cope with its huge wage bill and day to day operations.
Failure to pay its workforce bad, let alone facing the prospect of further punishment, including but not limited to heavy fines and docking of points.
The people who should be burning the midnight oil trying to salvage their ‘beloved’ club are the same people tightening the noose around the Cat’s neck.
Pray, what message does this send across to potential sponsors and benefactors?
Lie to me anyday, I can live with that, but these are not genuine AFC Leopards fans, these are hooligans who do not deserve to come to within a hundred kilometer radius of any sports arena.
GOING FORWARD
Stakeholders will not be surprised if these same people complain the most when the inevitable sanctions come calling at the den.
The club’s top hierarchy in co-ordination with other arms of the law and governance of the sport must work around the clock to quietly identify these traitors and unmask them.
This is a problem that needs to be tackled right from the root. If they are allowed to roam free and have their way, the club may not know peace, however much they try.
And while at it, those thugs have the option of watching these high voltage games at home, and smashing their television sets everytime things do not go their way.
