That’s not how to play ball

While there is plenty of hoopla that surrounds the ISL, there is no denying that there are underlying currents of dissent that surface every once in a while as well. While the fans are certainly the 12th man in every squad, in certain cases (as is becoming apparent to the away fans in more recent times) this additional squad member can tackle with more aggression than the 11 on the pitch. On October 22, 2015, a Herald correspondent was present in the East Stand at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Fatorda for the game between FC Goa and their away counterparts, Kerala Blasters FC. As Kerala took the lead, a few of the away fans celebrated their team’s lead, in a peaceful fashion. Not to be outdone, as Goa equalised shortly after, a large section of the home fans, incensed by the fact that the away support could be vociferous in their support for their team, surrounded the home team and jeered at them, causing some of the away fans to relocate themselves to other parts of the stand. Another two fans, seated in the row directly in front of said Herald correspondent were also clad in the yellow jersey sported by Kerala Blasters FC. Before the mob could turn on them, they were quick to very loudly pronounce that they were both local lads and that the only reason they were sporting said colours was because they were supporting Cavin Lobo, who is another Goan boy plying his trade for the Kerala-based outfit. Shortly after, at the very next match, Vernon Menezes, a FC Pune City fan posted on the immensely popular Facebook group, The Football Dugout: “Thank you Fc Goa for a warm welcome. We were really amazed to see that tremendous support for you guys at the east stand. Just that were depressed by attitude of some group of guys having the therm. model and some trying to remove our banners. But at the end of the day it was a good game thank you! Will be happy to welcome you guys on the 8th of November! Regards FCPC orange army! (sic)” Quick to showcase that not all of the club’s supporters were built in the same mould, but recognising the same factions, was avid local football fan Shivdas Nair, who responded with his own post of support, saying, “FC Pune City Fan’s it was a pleasure hosting you guys… It’s really nice to see so many of you guys drive down to Goa… Barring some unfortunate events the atmosphere was electrifying, thanks to you guys for adding the charm… The Football Dug Out sends out our wishes to all you guys… See you guys again next season in more numbers… Cheers! Also a request to all FC Goa fans, we are proud to be associated so closely with the beautiful game of Football… Let’s not allow our instincts to get better of us, we should learn to tolerate the opponent fans… If today we cannot handle less than 100 away fans how do we expect to evolve ourselves as a hub of Indian football… Let’s not forget there would be many of us who would be attending the away games too… Let’s not allow one person’s mistake to create a general image about all of us… Discourage physical altercations/ inappropriate behaviour whenever you come across any… Respect the opponents, Peace… Cheers! (sic)” Keeping aside the politics involved, the fact that the away section has no permanent place to call their own, and the fact that the finals are being held in Goa with no current resolution to this issue, Café asks a few fans to share their thoughts on such incidents and their views on how to resolve them: