Luc Van der Kelen on the revival of hooliganism: “What is possible in Antwerp, those in Liège could still be a bit better” | Antwerp
ColumnMy sympathy for the Antwerp football clubs is being tested. With every fusée that falls into the visitors’ trade, my love cools.
Admittedly, there is still that atmosphere of miraculous resurrection in and around the stadiums of Antwerp and Beerschot. The two tradition clubs want to return to the great days of yesteryear, when they could play for the title. I think it will also be okay with Beerschot, now even in crisis. There’s so much love in that club, she’ll be there again.
Antwerp is once again a fixed value at the top of Belgian football. The only thing the Great Old One can comprehend is that the chairman/sponsor drops out, as was the case with Eddy Wauters in the previous century.
The United Kingdom, the cradle of football and fan violence, has largely become hooligan-free. If it can be done there, what wouldn’t it be possible with us?
Unfortunately, the resurrection of the Antwerp tradition clubs also includes the revival of fan violence. Flares and riots seem to have become a regular ingredient of football. Have you ever seen such derailments in other sports? Basket for example? And what is possible in Antwerp, those in Liège can always be a bit more aggressive, as proved in the recent Walloon derby between Standard and Charleroi. Then we are not talking about supporters who are beaten up in a parking lot after the match, such as that Man City supporter.
For Belgian football serious incidents with supporters significant reputational damage. Recent events in several matches show that the leaders of the Football Association and the management of the clubs must intervene. Because one thing leads to another, I remember from last century. Think of 1985 at the Heysel. The final of the cup of the national champion.
The United Kingdom, the cradle of football and of fan violence, has since become and remained largely hooligan-free. If it can be done there, what wouldn’t it be possible with us? Then the local administrators should not play football to wage their own war against violence. It is not enough to unpack the entire police arsenal once. The time has come to intervene systematically. As a result, every week. Otherwise I’d better look at my grandson Thomas. He is a goalkeeper for a real amateur club, Driehoek Brasschaat, in the Royal Flemish Football Association. That’s another one of those neighborhood clubs like they have in every neighborhood, about six hundred members.
A father who has had one glass too many on a Saturday afternoon, when his son is playing, is about the right you can get.
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