Congratulations to Hibernians for their seventh FA Trophy win, this year sponsored by U*Bet.

That victory saved a rather opaque season for the Paolites where, at one time, at the end of the first phase, they seemed to be the likely main challengers to Sliema for the Bank of Valletta Premier League title only to finish a dismal fourth.

It was a huge sigh of relief for the Paola club to have not only won the Trophy, but also, a berth in next season’s UEFA Cup which will bring with it a cash windfall of Lm30,000.

Their fans had every right to celebrate the victory, but I must say that I cannot accept their behaviour and that of the Floriana fans, especially after the Paolites scored what proved to be the winner.

Till that moment, we had been enjoying the tirades from one side to the other. It was a spectacle which surprised us journalists, right above the fans in the Press Box. For a long number of years, both sides had never managed to attract even one third of the fans that were present at Ta’ Qali on Friday evening.

The two sides of the main stand were packed with vociferous supporters, but one thing went wrong – when the Hibs fans started chanting ‘Birkirkara xejn, Birkirkara xejn’. The reply from the Greens end of the Enclosure was insulting to all Valletta FC fans. Of course, we cannot reproduce the words here, but every Stadium goer would understand what I am writing about.

In the press box, we thought we were dreaming. In fact, it was really strange to hear such chants when neither the Birkirkara nor the Valletta fans were present, except, perhaps, for a couple of scores. And even if they had been present in their large numbers, why were they also dragged into the tirades? Does that mean true support to one’s favourites, nowadays at the Stadium?

To me, this is simply a clear picture of the ignorance which, quite unfortunately, still reigns among many Maltese. What happened at Ta’ Qali Stadium on Friday was, in my opinion, just a reflection of the mentality of the Maltese. And that is really poor, to say the least. I would not be exaggerating to say that such language at the Stadium has unfortunately become the order of the day.

But why? Do our fans have to insult their rivals to enjoy themselves during a football match? Does that mean sporting rivalry these days?

To be fair, although I am blaming the Hibs and Floriana fans simply because they were playing on Friday, however, I am sure that every team’s supporters, and that includes Birkirkara and Valletta as well, are to blame. And of course, it is always just those few who provide the spark to so many insulting chants. Such behaviour could also lead to some dreadful incidents.

At present, the clubs seem powerless in front of such a situation. All they can do is try – through the Supporters Clubs – to educate these people. But I am sure that would not help much.

The MFA can issue heavy fines on the clubs. They may also try to emulate FIFA and UEFA in what the world and European governing bodies are proposing to do on racism – loss of points on the culprit teams. That might prove to be a deterrent if these people really have their clubs at heart.

But it should not stop there either. The police also have to give their contribution. Such language in public, especially in front of a considerable number of children, is unacceptable. They have the authority and the power to arrest anyone who is found guilty of such appalling behaviour.

It is a pity that I have to comment on such behaviour at the end of a season which will, in all probability, show a considerable increase in the number of spectators attending at Ta’ Qali, when compared to recent seasons.

It is my love for the game which forces me to comment so strongly against such behaviour on our Stadium terraces. Because when one knows what the MFA has done in in the past two seasons in an effort to attract more people to those terraces – and to a certain extent these efforts were quite successful – then one must feel deeply sorry and sad because such a state of affairs does not induce many to return next season.

I must also say I was convinced to write this commentary by some Floriana fans while exiting the Stadium on Friday evening. They told me that they – and several other Greens fans – had not watched a local match for a large number of years but they would not return so quickly. I do not blame them.