Football attendances in Malta have dwindled considerably during the past few years and this problem had become a big bone of contention for the association and the clubs.
The association has done all that it was expected to do to try and bring back spectators to fill the vast terraces at Ta’ Qali. On their part, the clubs have done their best to strengthen their teams with a few better quality foreigners in an effort to see local levels improving, thus attracting more patrons to Ta’ Qali Stadium and wherever our football is played.
So far so good. But what happened at Ta’ Qali last Saturday before and during the Valletta-Floriana rival derby was not an encouraging sign for the future.
The fairly large crowd was undoubtedly one of the biggest ever in recent years for such a derby. I have been aware of the big rivalry between these two clubs for so many years and I expected such rivalry to come to the fore once there was such a good number of followers from both sides on the terraces, due to the importance of the match.
But is insulting one another, using obscene language, a modern form of support? Is there a need to go down to such levels? Were the players on the pitch instigated and encouraged by that form of support? Just ask them and they will tell you that they were also disgusted!
As were all those genuine persons who travelled to Ta’ Qali yesterday week to go and watch a keen and interesting football match for an afternoon of entertainment. I am sure they will probably never return, especially those who were accompanied by some of the younger members of their families.
The atmosphere at Ta’ Qali Stadium during the Valletta-Floriana clash was certainly not the right one. Instead, it turned into a bad advertisement for the game and a big slap in the face for the MFA and its clubs.
I think it is high time that the MFA and the police start taking more severe measures to curb this anti-sporting behaviour.
The MFA should start thinking of punishing clubs even with loss of points in such cases, while the police should not just try to stop the culprits, without much success.
Such persons should be banned from attending the Stadium. It is only a few dozens who trigger a situation such as that of Saturday. But then, all the others, seeing no serious action being taken, follow suit. This is well known to all and it is here that action has to be taken immediately to stop the problem from escalating.
It is a real pity because there seemed to have been a slight increase already this year in football attendances at Ta’ Qali and that must certainly have been good news for everyone, especially the association, the ground management and, most of all, the clubs.
But after that shameful behaviour it is unlikely and quite unfortunate that such an increase will continue to be registered, especially at Premier League matches.
The MOC Sports Awards
While congratulating the Malta Olympic Committee as well as the winners of this year’s Sports Awards, I feel I must say I was surprised that snooker’s nominated personalities were omitted from the winners’ list.
The reason is not perfectly clear, although rumours have it that there might have been a dispute over the funds allotted to the association for its members’ participation in competitions abroad. They claim it is a meager sum which is not enough to cover their expenses and consequently they have to fork out a considerable amount out of their own pockets to be able to take part in the European competitions.
The past year we had Alex Borg winning the European title and the Malta team, comprising, Borg, Guzi Grech and Simon Zammit also winning the European team title. Yet, this year, there was no award for such feats when last year, Borg was given gold for being a finalist in the same competition. It could have been a Platinum award for these three snooker heroes, even if snooker is still not recognised as an Olympic sport.
It is evident that this dispute was ill-timed.
The snooker players are believed to have told the MOC that they had decided to boycott last Thursday’s event. I think they erred as they should have left their problem in the hands of the association which would have discussed it with the MOC.
On the other hand, I firmly believe that their feat should still be recognised by the Malta Olympic Committee. May common sense prevail and any errors committed rectified.
Henry Brincat
Sports Editor
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