ANGRY MANCHESTER UNITED FAN ONLY KILLS FOUR

May 28 2009

Ogbo, Nigeria – Soccer (or Football) is the most widely played sport in the world. The favourite sport of virtually every nation on the planet, ‘The Beautiful Game’ has remained beloved and resonant from its early days over 160 years ago through to the present day. The sport though has not been without its ugly spots with recurring
incidents of ‘Hooliganism’ turning the focus from the sport to the fans, a event that has become so common that in some places it has overtaken the sport itself.

Such was the case in Nigeria where a Manchester United fan drove a minivan into a crowd, killing four. The fans had been celebrating the victory by Barcelona over the much loved Manchester team in the finals of the Champions League. It is believed that after seeing the revellers the man made a u-turn and ploughed into the crowd, killing the four and injuring ten more. It is believed that had Manchester won the fan would have driven with a clearer head and stronger purpose and succeeded in killing even more.

“He was displaying his anger at his team losing the match,” said a police spokesperson to CNN. “The driver had passed the crowd then made a U-turn and ran into them.”

Hooliganism has been common in Europe, particularly in the U.K., but has only recently caught on in the rest of the football loving world.

“Playing it rough in the crowds has long been a tradition for British Football fans. In
most sports the bulk of the action is on the field but with soccer that has never been the case. That may in fact be why it is such a popular sport and has such dedicated fans. Simply put no other sport puts fans in the game the way soccer does. It gives them a personal connection to the sport that goes far beyond rooting for the home team,” said Scrape TV Sports analyst Mark Marvins. “In the United Kingdom that history of violence dates almost all the way back to the beginnings of the sport. By the later part of the twentieth century hooligans had become organized and disciplined and seemed to use the game as an excuse for causing riots. Sure it ruins a good game and can cause serious harm, but it really isn’t a soccer match unless someone gets hurt.”

Typical hooliganism in the U.K. involves small groups of people fighting with other small groups. In recent years that has escalated to death threats against players and officials. In the rest of the world, particularly in Africa, riots have been the leading form of hooliganism which has increased the death toll dramatically.

“A lot of European hooligans look down on the efforts by their compatriots in Africa. The use of riots and large scale chaos has racked up impressive numbers – 125 dead in Ghana during a 2001 match for example – but has lost some of the subtlety that many have worked hard to achieve. There may be an element of jealousy involved there or it may be an unwillingness to adapt to the times though we may never really know,” continued Marvins. “The truth is unless British hooligans start to up their game they are going to be overshadowed by the developing world. These young and developing soccer countries are going to overwhelm the people who invented the sport. An incident like this shows that British soccer fans are willing to up their game but the harsh truth is only four people died. This was in Africa; you need to do better than that.”

It’s not clear how many people were killed by Barcelona supporters, though more than 100 people were arrested in Spain following the victory.

Alexi Orton, Sports Correspondent

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