Hooliganism is unacceptable in our stadiums

M’Mbaitsi Shitsukane is ready to swear by the gods of Kabras that Eugene Ambulwa’s was a fair tackle on the Ulinzi striker.

That the referee’s decision was influenced by the striker’s rather emaciated figure than any ill intentions on the part of Ambulwa. I refuse to agree. Ambulwa’s was a full bloodied tackle which under normal circumstances would have attracted a straight red card.

If anything, Ambulwa should be grateful to his central defensive partner Yakubu Ramadhani whose protestations took the referee’s focus away from him.

I’ll not overly dwell on his involvement in the handball that occasioned the Ulinzi penalty earlier in the match because these are some of the hazards which come with being a defender, a no-nonsense one like Ambulwa.

What is unacceptable is Ambulwa’s act of kicking out at Ulinzi skipper Godfrey Kokoyo in an off-the-ball incident which escaped the referee’s attention but was very well captured by television cameras.

That rather despicable action speaks volumes about the boy’s temperament which must be tamed before it lands the club in trouble.

Away from Ambulwa’s excesses, the goons who invaded the playing field during the match to protest the referee’s decision to award Ulinzi a second penalty are an embarrassment to the Ingwe nation. They belong in the same league with my good friend Tom Osanjo and his army of K’Ogalo goons who attend matches not for their love of the game but to look for the slightest excuse to cause mayhem.

MANHANDLING LINESMAN

It must worry every football-loving fan in the country that the goon who was photographed manhandling the linesman after the K’Ogalo-Tusker match has not been arraigned in any court of law.

It must also worry all of us at Ingwe if the goon who stormed the pitch during the Saturday match at Mumias and had to be physically restrained from harming the match officials by head coach Ivan Minnaert and midfielder Allan Kateregga is allowed to get away with his criminal acts.

It should not matter whether one is a K’Ogalo or Ingwe fan. I for one, will never take offence if extremists like Osanjo and his ilk are nabbed and hurled before the country’s courts for unleashing mayhem at our stadiums.

I get very disappointed when such goons are let to go scot-free while match referees are subjected to all kinds of investigations for their decisions.

Only last week, the referees committee was too willing to crack down on the referees who officiated the Gor – Tusker match. What saved assistant referee George Mwangi and centre referee David Mulongo were television replays which clearly showed that they were right in awarding Tusker the penalty that decided the match.

It is in the interests of every well-meaning Ingwe fan that we outlaw in our midst goons hell-bent on bringing disrepute to this great brand.

Let’s leave hooliganism to its owners, and you and I know them.

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