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IT is holiday time, that time when children take a break from school work and spend more time with their families.
This is the time that the children are supposed to have fun and be entertained in different ways at various venues.
As the most supported sport, soccer is likely to rank high among the forms of entertainment that school pupils would be drawn to. However, this past weekend what happened at Barbourfields does not bode well for the proper socialisation of our young people. There can never be any justification for violence at stadiums.
Why are supporters making stadiums hard hat areas time and time again? It would appear that the cancer of violence at soccer matches is slowly growing into a giant monster that is gnawing away at our moral fabric.
We should not make our young people believe that beating up rival supporters or law enforcement agents is acceptable. It is not. It is thoroughly reprehensible and those caught on the wrong side do not deserve our sympathy but should face the full wrath of the law.
Also, there are clubs whose supporters are fast gaining notoriety for their behaviour at soccer matches, especially when refereeing decisions do not seem to go their way. We believe clubs should do more to educate their supporters on the dangers of violence at matches.
Should the clubs lose control of their supporters, we risk having a situation where even the best supported clubs could see crowds dwindle as many supporters or genuine football lovers, would not want to endanger themselves by going to soccer matches likely to end in orgies of violence.
Apart from the fines imposed on the clubs, the declining revenue for the clubs would mean that they would fail to run their operations smoothly and fail to pay players well, leading to poor football ultimately. In short, violence benefits no one.
The latest violence involved Highlanders fans at a match against Chicken Inn, the reigning league champions.
Highlanders is a big institution that marks 90 years of existence this year. However, such behaviour by its supporters, if not nipped in the bud, could put a blemish on its proud record.
To assure fans that they value their safety, we believe the executive committee members can take up seating positions among their supporters and develop some rapport with them, and over time educate them before matches or at half time on the rules of the game and expected behaviour.
If the senior members cannot feel safe at certain sections of the stadium, they should not expect anyone else to feel safe.
Let us dialogue more with our fans beyond just issuing statements of condemnation each time there is violence at stadiums. History shall judge us harshly should we fail to educate our young generation on the expected behaviour, and continue to normalise the abnormal by burying our heads in the sand while hooligans hijack the beautiful game.
Online Reporter