If the case had happened in Brazil, or in any country classified as “developing” (I would write Third World country, but the term is considered pejorative and obsolete), the looks would have been more critical and condemnatory.
“Primitive, disobedient, uncivilized, reckless” and other terms would be widely applied – and with good reason.
As happened in Europe (I will report what happened later), these same looks were not so rigid. After all, Europeans (from Western nations mainly) and North Americans (USA and Canada specifically) are considered examples of good education, politeness, and breeding.
In general, they are –more among themselves than with outsiders–, but in football it doesn’t work like that. When fans go to a game, they risk losing their rationality. If you are in a group, in an organized crowd, this subjection rises to stratospheric levels.
On Sunday (30), Ajax, the biggest team in the Netherlands (in terms of fans and titles), hosted Groningen at the Johan Cruyff stadium in Amsterdam for the Dutch Championship.
Behind one of the goals, the F-Side is traditionally located. It is a kind of faction of fans, classified as “ultras”. They are the most fanatical (radical) fans, who support the team intensely and unconditionally, chanting, unfurling flags, performing choreography.
At the beginning of the match, F-Side released dozens of fireworks, exploded dozens of smoke bombs and fired hundreds of flares.
As reported by sports websites, they were paying tribute to one of their fans, Tiemen Tüben Pfann, nicknamed Tum, who died days earlier at the age of 29 – the cause of death was not disclosed.
Relevant information: in the Netherlands, it is prohibited to enter sports arenas with materials of this type. Thus, supervision did not exist, or failed blatantly, or, more likely, turned a blind eye to the organization.
I even consider it beautiful to have a visual spectacle in stadiums. Flags and mosaics should be allowed and encouraged as they positively enhance the atmosphere of each match.
But the pyrotechnics are dubious. Excessive noise, close to the eardrums, and smoke that harms the eyes and lungs displease me. Furthermore, this time she went beyond the stands. The fireworks reached the field, putting the integrity of the players at risk, and the referee stopped the game after 5 minutes.
The teams retreated to the locker rooms, and the arena’s screen, right above the F-Side, displayed the message in bold letters: “It is prohibited to release fireworks.”
If the club hadn’t let the ultras come in with the fireworks, there wouldn’t be a problem. If there is a problem, this method is used.
After waiting for 45 minutes, the teams returned to the pitch for the match to resume, in a failed attempt.
Obedience is not a predominant characteristic in fanatics, and F-Side, with an arsenal that seemed endless, once again fired the fireworks.
The referee then definitively suspended the game. It was decided that it will be held this Tuesday (2), in the same location, but behind closed doors.
Conclusions:
1) as there was no prevention (as with illness, it is always better to prevent than cure), we move on to treatment. Authorities, using cameras, will try to identify the fans responsible to apply individual punishments. It seems like a joke. There were hundreds, thousands there. If there is a sanction, it must be collective, for the entire F-Side;
2) from a sociological point of view it is clear that, for an organized fan base, the shirt itself is worth more than the shirt of the team that justifies its existence. It’s a tribal thing. Due to the ideal of glorifying someone in their ranks, the objective of going to the game to support the club is ignored. Respect and safety guidelines are ignored, people go home without watching football.
There and here.
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