It’s hard to comprehend the idea that 125 people who happily went to watch a football match last Saturday week ended up paying for it with their lives.
What unfolded in Indonesia the other weekend was painfully reminiscent of the Hillsborough tragedy all those years ago. And just like that one, this story is heartbreaking at every turn.
In the aftermath of the incident that happened during a league match in East Java, the blame game has started. And most of the blame seems to be falling at the feet of the police for their heavy-handed and indiscriminate approach to what started out as a pitch invasion.
To be fair, I can understand why fingers are being pointed in their direction – apparently they fired tear gas not just at the supporters who entered the pitch but also into the fans still in the stands. This caused a stampede for the exits which led to so many innocent people losing their lives, including at least 17 children; one just three years old.
But, and I think this is an important point to make, while the police acted very badly in a number of ways, none of this would have happened if those fans hadn’t invaded the pitch in the first place.
Reports suggest it was Arema FC supporters who stormed the pitch in anger after they lost 3-2 to visiting Persebaya Surabaya, the first time they had been defeated at home by that team in 23 years. And that moment – when those fans decided they could break the law just because their favourite team had lost a game – sowed the seed for so much horror and sadness.
From what I have read, there are few if any redeeming reports about the way the police tackled this situation – with them essentially fanning the fire at every stage, rather than putting it out. But it was those supporters (many of whom were allegedly drunk) breaking through barricades to get on the pitch that lit the fire in the first place.
In the wake of the incident, all sorts of scary details are coming out – like the fact that there were thousands more supporters in the ground than it was supposed to hold; that the exits are so narrow only two people could get out at the same time; and that some of the emergency exits were locked.
With Indonesia in shock and mourning, there will undoubtedly be a lot of changes to the way football grounds in the country are run, designed and policed in the future; with FIFA likely to get deeply involved in the reforms.
But none of that will bring back those 125 people, the vast majority of whom were guilty of nothing more than going out on a Saturday evening to watch a bit of football and have a little fun.
Maybe fans in England, and everywhere else, who are stupid enough to believe their right to protest outweighs safety concerns will think twice before invading any pitch in the future. If that happens, then it will be the only tiny bit of positivity to come out of this unfathomable tragedy.
Maybe fans stupid enough to believe their right to protest outweighs safety concerns will think twice before invading a pitch in future
Your say
“As a Scot, I can bear the English football team’s problems quite calmly. You obviously dislike Gareth Southgate. Fair enough, but I do think you’re being less than fair to him.
“A football manager can only work with the players made available to him, and it is hardly Southgate’s fault that the Premier League system forces him to pick his team from a select band of largely has-beens and no-hopers.
“The Premier League is certainly highly competitive and extremely skilful (although I prefer Germany myself) but it is hardly based on the quality of English players. For example, where is there an English goalkeeper to match Lloris or Fabianski, a central defender of the standard of Salina or Romero, a midfield controller like De Bruyne or Gundogan, or a forward like Salah or Haaland?
“Yes, there are English players in highly successful clubs but, in the main, they are only successful because they are riding on the backs of much more talented, imported, colleagues. Not just players, look also at coaches. How many English international players are playing for club sides who are coached by Englishmen? Look down the league tables.
“So here’s a challenge for you, James. Name an English coach who you think would be better than Gareth Southgate. And name the 11 players you think would do better than his selections. If nothing else, it’ll give us a laugh.” Wylie Cunningham, Balzan, e-mail.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Wylie. I can see your Scottishness shining through!
With the possible exception of the defence, which is not blessed with world class talent, the current crop of English players is one of the best I have seen in my lifetime.
There aren’t many international teams that would be unhappy picking six or seven starters out of Kane, Saka, Sterling, Grealish, Henderson, Foden, Mount, Abraham, Rice, Philips and Bellingham. And that’s not considering other, fringe-ish, players like Sancho, Maddison, Rashford, Toney and Watkins.
Having said that, my point about Southgate is not so much about who he picks, but how he asks them to play. Instead of playing to their attacking strengths he is trying to cover up their defensive weakness.
Take Manchester City, for example. Their strength is in going forward, so Pep Guardiola sets up his teams to maximise that. His thought process, I would imagine, is that if your front six are devastatingly good, you don’t need to worry about your defence all that much. A similar approach from Southgate would be the right one.
As for an alternative manager, I never said he absolutely needed to be English, although that would be preferable. For instance, I wouldn’t mind someone like José Mourinho having a crack at this World Cup.
But if we were to go English, I would be reasonably happy with a young, adventurous manager like Eddie Howe, Scott Parker or Graham Potter or even someone a bit more grizzled but enthusiastic like Sean Dyche, Chris Wilder or maybe Neil Warnock.
I have always believed that, at international level, it’s more about motivation, organisation and passion, than tactical genius.
E-mail: james@quizando.com
Twitter: @maltablade