A former football referee suggests how crowd violence can be stopped and dangerous flares doused Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. It does not need fire to be more entertaining. But there are an increasing number of images of fires lit at stadiums worldwide, including Egypt. Lit flares and other open flames in soccer stadiums around the world have resulted in play stoppages, injury to players and fans, and in at least one case, the death of a spectator. Crowd disturbances and all forms of football hooliganism have also taken hold in Egypt's stadiums. Pitch invasions in the country this football season have become the norm. The revolution apparently empowered and emboldened youth to take matters into their own hands if a match does not end in their favour. Slack security in the wake of the uprising has also been taken advantage of by paid thugs of the remnants of the former regime to mar games which helps prevent the country from returning to a semblance of normalcy. Unlike West Europe, Egypt does not have a long history of crowd trouble, but there have been exceptions. The infamous 1971 Cairo derby between Ahli and Zamalek saw referee Mohamed Diab Al-Attar controversially adjudged Ahli goalkeeper Marwan Kanafani of bringing down a Zamalek player for a penalty. Angry Zamalek fans ran amok, rioting in the stands and outside the stadium. Then there was the mix-up between Alexandrian referee Ahmed Bilal and his linesman Mahmoud Ghazal in another Ahli-Zamalek encounter which ended not only in the game being abandoned but the entire football association being dissolved. One of the earliest disturbances involving flares and an Egyptian team was in a match in the 1990s between a Dubai line-up and the Egyptian national team in the UAE. A Dubai goal in the 87th minute launched celebratory fireworks around the stadium, one of which zoomed into the ear and struck dead Sheikh Mohamed Al-Qasami of the Emirates royal family. In most stadiums around the world it is not allowed to bring in fireworks; there are fines for clubs whose fans do. They might differ from country to country, but they are imposed. Recently, Amer Hussein, chairman of the competitions committee, stated that sanctions for use of flares will be imposed in accordance with regulations stipulated by FIFA. FIFA, football's world governing body, punishes clubs in the event of fans launching fireworks, whether it is an individual case or en masse, and whether the fireworks are ignited in the stadium or thrown onto the pitch. However, fines, playing in empty stadiums and playing home games away -- nothing has worked. Perhaps the following will: If flares are used or pitches are invaded, the offending team's supporters in the next game will be allowed to enter only second class mezzanines, not third. If there are repeat violations, if the fans of the violating club want to attend the next game, they do so only in the first class seats, and so on. The more violations, the more expensive seats will become, until, when all else fails, supporters are prevented from attending games all together. In this way, the clubs may not lose money but the fans will. When you know that third class seats are between LE5 to LE10, second class LE20, first class LE50 and the tribune LE100, in a country in which the average monthly salary is around LE500, soccer tickets do not come cheap. To force fans who are not breaking the law to pay a price for those who violate the rules might be considered collective punishment. But in such a situation, supporters who want to go to matches but not pay for expensive seats will stop tolerating the fans who, by breaking the rules, are forcing avid supporters who have done nothing wrong to dig deeper into their pockets. The fan who wins the day might be the fan who stands to lose the most. Flares and other disturbances can be a dangerous way to celebrate successes or vent frustrations. The flames of passion burn bright for soccer fans. However, fans are supposed to support their team, not destroy the places that their team calls home. Mohamed Nofal refereed in the Egyptian Premier League from 1987-1993.
