After reading the comments following Eski's post on our match with Eskişehir, I thought it would be appropriate to post the link to an article I read this morning in the Hürriyet Daily News. The title in the paper this morning was Federation will act tough on thugs while the title on the online version is Football federation moves to curb violence. Give it a read and see what you think.http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=1124152213863-2009-11-24
Battle Damaged,that was like reading any number of articles from the 80's about the English game (and I say English,not British) when its football hooliganism was at its height.They were the? kind of measures they had to bring in to curb the problems.I'm not saying they're totally non existent now but there's a huge improvement now compared to those dark days.Maybe someone can fill us in as to whether there was a previous problem with this in the Turkish game in the past or whether its a new phenomonum?I am of course familiar with the instances of Turkish teams involved in Euro competition,ie Galatasaray v Leeds Utd etc but am unsure as to the history of violence in the domestic game there.Cant believe this is something new in Turkey but maybe I'm wrong.
ReplyDeleteAs I alluded to previously here,the bigger picture for me with regard to hooliganism is that it isnt a football problem ultimately but a social one.No one would be stabbed at a football match if PEOPLE didnt bring knives along with them.
Dublin Neil.
dublin , bro as you had observed its not merely a simple hooliganism problem.economic reasons lie behind mostly or we can say they form the most crucial part of this situation.
ReplyDeleteyou know the unemployment rate is very high in turkey and the misery index of people is jumping from a long time.as young labour power group fail to find sufficient profession conditions to satisfy themselves,they seek for an alternative and consequently embrace a football team to make their furious minds shifted to elsewhere.
additionally,a serious rate of hooligans are the ones who have nothing to deal with or concern, so that they ''identify with'' a soccer club.such as :when their beloved got thrashed, we encounter with huge turmoils as if their lands were invaded by enemy forces!!
also for recent years,people became apt to support local teams or their city's instead of istanbul's in order to go to the stadiums regularly and create something new to get busy.
think about these facts...
Agreed Celine,there will always be some who use football as an "outlet" to channel their aggression and frustration which have nothing to do with football and are more to do with their situation and sense of injustice,real or perceived in life.Having said that we cant say that everybody who has experienced tough times or unfair breaks or unemployment has become a football hooligan.I would say that hooligans,being of that mind,would be more likely to get involved in crime at some level even if they didnt have football stadia to go to than the average Joe in the street.
ReplyDeleteDublin Neil.
LOL. I think that some of the "measures" that they're describing here are totally unenforceable. Where are the Gecikondu boys gonna get the dosh to pay those kinds of fines? If the authorities take away the stadium as a venue to "vent", then the supporters will just move underground and find ways to "vent" elsewhere. I'm certainly not for violence in football, but in Turkey it is a part of the game, and there are levels of it that I'm prepared to accept (not stabbing) to avoid the kind of backlash that the imposition of these positions would produce.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dublin Neil concerning the carrying of knives. This is totally unacceptable for football supporters but generally accepted as the norm for criminals.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, if you are caught carrying a knife the Police quite rightly must assume that you are a criminal !
Ankaragucu supporters (certain elements) are infamous Turkey-wide for carrying Doner knives and other such large varieties of knives and this reputation has unfortunately stuck.
Looking at the big picture of controlling violence in the Stadium, the TFF only have to take a look at the UK Stadiums for the answer.
The Police Control Room in the Stadiums have cameras which control every centimetre of the Stadium, and with Police in the Stadium connected by radio to the Control Room, can react quickly to any problem.
No smoking, no alcohol, no standing and no obscene chanting is rigourously enforced.
However, as I said in my Antalya v Ankaragucu report a few weeks ago, sometimes the Police just stand and do nothing when the supporters start ripping seats up and throwing them to the peritrack.
I'm not saying that it will be a miracle cure if we implement these ideas from the UK, but it could surely be a beginning.
I should also mention that the UK Police have been able to identify and control those groups of 'casuals' who go to the matches solely for a fight with the opposition. Zooming in with cameras can identify those people and take the necessary action to ban them from footie matches.
Of course there is another aspect to consider and that is financing the high tech and increased Police presence. Perhaps this is something which the TFF is loathe to pursue in view of the extra expense which will ensue.
Let's see if Battle Damaged Hurriyet article prompts any action !!
I think Eski Kanka is corrct: More monitoring and an enhanced police presence are the only ways to fix this problem. Sit the fans down and if they get out of hand, remove them from the stadium. Enforce these measures consistently and I suspect we'll see a change in the soccer culuture.
ReplyDelete