By Victor Mbakaya

IDAC the sole disciplinary body mandated to maintain law and order in the Kenya Premier League has left a lot to be desired in its recent rulings and decisions. As a keen follower of the rejuvenated soccer fiesta in the country I would without doubt label the disciplinary body as a failure and an impartial system. There rulings in the recent past have been retrogressive to certain parties and one wonders whether the rulings are made just to raise money to run their offices or increase the professionalism in the sport.

I refer in particular to their targeting of community clubs namely Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards. The two clubs arguably have the best support in the country and all said and done are the major reason why there is a renewed interest in the Kenya Premier League.To assume that the clubs can be done away with due to some of the clubs having wrecked in massive amounts of Corporate sponsorship is a fact I would like to remind IDAC and the KPL board to forget if such an idea ever crosses their mind.The big-headed syndrome our leadership assumes all the time leaves one baffled as to who is the beneficiary in this sports. They need to remember that as much as fans appreciate their efforts in maintaining order and promoting standards in the KPL, they need to also clearly get to the root of the problems and not just the symptoms.

I wouldn’t like to pass across as a supporter of hooliganism but having been in the stadium on several occasions and witnessed this outburst, I came across to the following as the major cause of fan violence.

1.         Provocative goal celebrating gestures by coaches and players

2.         Poor match officiating

3.         Poor security details by KPL and Clubs

4.         Below par performances by the team against fan expectations

5.         Previous decisions by the IDAC and KPL in matches


Where as the teams are fined and ordered to play in empty stadia,the officials always walk away free and none of those sitting on the ‘boards’ is ever out to accept blame on their decisions.


CASES TO NOTE:

Coach Suspensions
The head coach of Mathere United was suspended for six months following allegations as contained in a report handed to IDAC by the KPL officials. So was Ulinzi head coach Sammy Simiyu.


Player Suspensions

Several players have come under the radar for various offences and been punished. Example of players who have faced the IDAC Wrath include Edgar Ochieng, Humphrey Mieno,Evans Amuoka and Jackton Odhiambo.

Referee Punishments

None so far documented.



In this case IDAC should focus on improving their own house first by streamlining their decision making organs. What basis do they have to let Sofapaka coach off the hook yet it is his celebrations style that triggered part of the violence at Nyayo Stadium on August 05, 2010 during their match against AFC Leopards. On many occasions, fans have invaded the pitch when some of the teams are playing but who cares? Is the KPL composed of untouchables and touchables? Let the new entrants in the league be reminded that the struggle for order in the KPL was initiated by the same teams they think are ‘useless’ or ‘lesser’. The major achievement will be when the Causes are dealt with, rather than the Symptoms.

While fans will sacrifice to support their teams, let IDAC and KPL ensure that fairness and tolerance is upheld. When Leopards played Gor at the same venue in May, their was no fan violence despite the two being arch-rivals. Hence, the need to check the boardrooms for some dubious decision making. While it’s alleged the Kimanzi suspension was pegged on sidelining him from taking up the national team Harambee Stars,one wonders how hard they would be working to net Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee and lock him out too.

Use of offices to settle scores is a detestable activity. We urge legislators to usher in the much overdue Sports Bill and curb misuse of the Sport industry. Fans hate to see their teams lose and unfortunately that’s the passion of the sport. Without such incidences, consider the game dead. Comparing European soccer fan behaviour to Kenyans is a misguided approach as the two watch soccer for different reasons and have pretty different culture in terms of accepting loss and winning. Though good, such incidences however need not be tolerated either as way of ensuring sobriety and order in the competitive sport. The major achievement will be when the cause is dealt with, rather than the symptoms.

DISCLAIMER: The above article is an independent contribution by one of the many readers of kenyanstar. The content their in does not necessarily represent the views of kenyanstar. follow this link for a summery of IDAC rulings 2010 season.