Will docking points end the violence?

What you need to know:

  • We know so well that the kind of fan that likes to throw stones is not even bothered by the lost points and they will still hurl their rocks.

  • The case of Ingwe is even more complicated since they are losing three points for a match that they lost. It is like a double punishment.

  • We must define just who is responsible for controlling the crowds.

  • Is it the work of club officials or is it the province of the police?

The last week we woke up to the news that the Independent Disciplinary and Complaints Committee (IDCC) had recommended to KPL that three points be deducted from AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia.

The main reason for the deduction of points was crowd trouble or hooliganism as many would like it to be called.

The deduction has taken K’Ogalo from the topmost perch to the fourth position while Ingwe finds itself in the 11th position rolling towards relegation.

We do not say that we love hooliganism but we cannot pretend that we agree with the IDCC decision to dock points.

Of course we know that the disciplinary action taken by the IDCC is meant to send a message to rowdy fans that their team will suffer anytime they cause chaos.

We know so well that the kind of fan that likes to throw stones is not even bothered by the lost points and they will still hurl their rocks.

The game between Gor Mahia and Tusker was not abandoned but play stopped for some 10 minutes due to crowd trouble.

To make matters worse, Gor were not the home team.

The case of Ingwe is even more complicated since they are losing three points for a match that they lost. It is like a double punishment.

Recently we asked in this column if these clubs that find it even hard to pay their players have the ability to control the crowds.

We still insist that these clubs shall be victims simply because they have fans.

To avoid losing any points then, a team should have no fans at all just like the other teams in the Premier League that are used to play in empty stadiums sans cheers or jeers.

It is very easy to lump all fans in the hooligan bin but docking of points is not going to be the solution to the problem.

We must define just who is responsible for controlling the crowds.

Is it the work of club officials or is it the province of the police?

If it is the duty of the club, then we must suppose that Football Kenya Federation (FKF) must lend a hand in the arrangement.

If it is the domain of the police then we must make sure that they do their job.

There are countries where every ticket holding fan is known.

If a stone is thrown from the crowd, the cameras shall pick up the stone thrower and he or she is pursued by the law.

In Kenya we do not have that. People get into the stadium and we just cannot tell how many they are.

Tickets are sold to everybody without knowing just where they are going to sit.

It is not going to be easy to control anything here and we can only dream that one day we will also be organized and enter the 21st century of football like they are in Europe.

We are informed that the teams whose points have been docked have already appealed against the decision of IDCC.

We wait to hear just what direction it will take and what other considerations will be taken into account.

Recently, the betting company that sponsors the league stopped their sponsorship of K’Ogalo and Ingwe over crowd trouble.

The owner who also is the MD, the spokesman, the chief accountant and everything else shouted something about docking points.

Rules were hastily crafted long after the matches in question and the new rules have now been applied going backwards. 

It is like making New Year resolutions for 2016 and then using them to evaluate 2015.