By Fredrick Nadulli,

By now this should have reached every corner of this republic. Gor Mahia will play their remaining two fixtures behind tightly closed doors. Further to that,they shall fork out half a million shillings for failing to control their riotous fans. Their opponents for the day, Sofapaka, shall part with slightly more than a quarter million for ‘failure to provide adequate security’ for the volatile fixture.

These in sum are the decisions arrived at by football administrators regarding the match played in Machakos. Knee-jerk and a slap in the wrist if you ask me. With such decisions,impunity and Kenyan football shall remain joined in the hip,like Siamese twins,for the long haul.

HORSES HAVE BOLTED
In essence, an otherwise entertaining and highly competitive football season shall likely end in anti-climax,in an empty stadium. Gor are potential champions and may receive their coveted trophy before a multitude of unoccupied seats,with decibels of echoes ringing around the arena their only companion. It is the best way how not to end a championship. The decision will certainly water down what was turning out to be a season finale per excellence.

In hindsight, Gor are lucky that they still are title contenders. They,together with their notorious partners-in-crime AFC Leopards rule the local roost in matters followership. And in a lopsided society like ours, the in-laws get away with murder oft times. Before they throw me under the bus, they are best advised to approach this sticky issue with level headedness. The only solution that will curb such thuggery in Kenya, apart of course from prosecuting the perpetrators individually, would be to dock their beloved clubs points and in docking points FKF does not mean three points.

Had the FKF gone that route, Gor would not be in contention as we speak, Leopards would be fighting relegation and Kenyan football would regain some much needed and elusive sanity. Problem with our administration is that they either lack the balls to make such bold decisions or (un)knowingly play accomplice to the vice.

Break this down for me; Sofapaka are fined for failing to provide adequate security? Fine. Shouldn’t the FKF fine itself as well be fined for failing to do the same as organizers of the ill-fated semi-final GOtv match at the City Stadium? What is good for the goose must surely be good for the gander. That would be poetic justice so to speak. They cannot purport to mete out punishment while on the same breath playing blind to their own sins. Nobody will take them seriously and people will cast aspersions on their decisions. Stadium security in this country is two-faced.

When a junior Manchester United side visited Kenya a couple of years ago for a friendly, the Safaricom stadium in Kasarani was chocked to the brim with intelligent security apparatus.There were police akin to the secret service sitting among the crowds, within a forty metre radius of each other. Suffice is to say that even those notorious fans known for consuming stuff stronger than nicotine in the stands were that afternoon forced to make do with ‘pure oxygen’, literally. Sadly after that day,the one-off tight security recoiled into its inner sanctum,never to resurface. If only we could have half of that intelligentsia in our league games.

HIT BELOW THE BELT
Admittedly, it requires collective effort to fight this raging monster. Our clubs,already straining on lean budgets,bear the biggest brunt of these misdeeds. However,hitting them where it hurts is the surest way to get them out of their cocoons. Delaying to take a firm stand only worsens an already bad situation. Shave a giant for minnows to take notice and toe the line.

Tomorrow if Shabana join the top tier,and inevitably so, that will be a third ‘little monster’ waiting to be pampered, if you understand the dynamics of Kenyan society.

Here is a habit the FKF will want to keep; take off the kids gloves and land some heavy bare-knuckled blows and while at it, Kenya’s numerous jails will only be too eager to play host to some of these hoodlums.

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