Never take football hooliganism for granted.
By: Suresh Nair
As the police and FAS probe the weekend’s FA Cup ruckus at Gombak Stadium, I wish Singaporeans take this seriously, otherwise we may go back to the riotous years of the 1960 and 70s, where gangsters ruled the football fields.
I’m not exaggerating, not making a mountain of a molehill, until Hussain Razzak, a dedicated Woodlands Wellington FC official, recounted his frightening experience in a match in the early 80s.
Hussain’s no-punches-pulled eyewitness account shows how football became a matter of life and death and how his Gibraltar Crescent FC miraculously escaped a gruesome climax.
For God’s sake, we cannot ever allow another riotous rebellion on or off the field of play, like what Hussain boldly recounted.
The FAS must make sure gangsterism is immediately nipped in the bud, with appropriate bans, even life playing sanctions, and the police must throw the full weight of the law by charging the hooligans in court.
Ugly scenes like at Gombak Stadium must never be allowed to repeat.
Football, as the No 1 sport, must remain a family sport, to be appreciated by the younger generation in a responsible sportsmanship way.
We shouldn’t allow even a centimeter for gangsterism to thrive in order to avert the gory fighting football scenes we have seen in Ankara, Moscow and even Anfield in England.
And if I may repeat, we should never ever take football hooliganism for granted.
Thank you, Hussain Razzak. You made the right timely call for your horrifying expose.
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Suresh Nair is a Singapore-based journalist, who has been involved with the FAS in various capacities, over the last three decades.
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The video of a sudden brawl which broke out at a recent Football Association Cup 2016 (National Football League &; Island Wide League Stage) match in Singapore went viral yesterday. The brawl was first brought to light by the captain of Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association (SAFSA), Syafiq Siraj.
Veteran sports journalist Suresh Nair also shared videos of the brawl in his Facebook.