Dubai: Loyalty is a necessary trait in every person and every nation but when it turns into violence and chaos, action must be taken to put an end to it, said Mohammad Al Rumaithi, former chairman of the UAE Football Association.
In the UAE, there have been traces of bias, especially with the advancement of technology and nationwide broadcast of matches, however, it has not reached a point of chaos or violence, said Al Rumaithi, one of the panellists at the session titled Media and Hooliganism in Sports. He also noted that the UAE has passed a law that requires sports clubs to have security present at all times to prevent any misbehavior.
During the session, which was held at the 14th edition of the Arab Media Forum in Madinat Jumeirah Dubai, biases in sports leading to violence should be addressed by nations to avoid the outbreak of chaos. Speaking of the 2009 incident when dozens of Egyptian and Algerian fans were injured following the World Cup qualifying match, Ezzudin Mayhubi, former Minister of Information in Algeria, clarified that the issue exists in all part of the world since the existence of sports. He spoke about Colombian soccer player, Andres Escobar, who was killed in 1994 as punishment after scoring an own goal which led to the elimination of the team from the Fifa World Cup tournament.
“Being too loyal to a team causes a person to feel the need to overcome an opponent of anyone even if it means eliminating them,” said Mayhubi.
As an Algerian, he explained that following the 2009 clashes, he made an effort to appear in Egyptian media and emphasise the fact that Egyptian- Algerian relationships are much stronger than a football match.
“It may have caused a crack in our relations but not more than that because ties are much stronger and we have moved on,” said Mayhubi.
Hassam Al Mestikawi, a writer and sports critic in Egypt, added that media plays a crucial role and should not try to take advantage of reaching the masses to worsen a situation.
“In the Arab world, a sports commentator will proudly display support for one of the two teams which is something we don’t find in Western commentators’ style,” he said. “The role of media is to be objective and to avoid exaggerations that could worsen situations.”
Maria Botros is a trainee at Gulf News
