Hooligan's Sport?

Recently ICC warned players for misconduct and there you hear voices of discontent and anger from players, both current and former and their associations. ICC wants to stop sledging on and off the field and players want to continue that in the name of character it brings to the game. Players like Sunil Gavaskar are completely against sledging while most modern players enjoy a bit of passion display. Even a cool customer like Sachin Tendulkar let verbal volleys out on McGrath at Nairobi in 2000. This is a debate which to me will never end. Gentleman’s game or not there will always be cases when someone will utter couple of words in the heat. ICC on the other hand will continue to fine players for breaching code of conduct.

What really caught my attention is Mr Speed’s remark about Soccer. He referred soccer to be a hooligan’s sport. It’s a common knowledge that soccer matches have attracted street fights between opposite fans. Now how do you stop that if you were FIFA? One way come to my mind is to deploy more security personals in sensitive areas. But how about warning players for misconduct on pitch? Soccer already has yellow and red cards which work reasonably well.

Let’s come back to Cricket. Haven’t we seen enough times crowd throwing missiles on players or interrupting matches. As recently as in Chappell-Hadlee trophy one-dayer at Auckland crowd was not the best. Are we ready to call Cricket a hooligan’s sport? If not what will make us do that? More crowd trouble or a light banter on field between a fast bowler and an attacking batsman?

Why sports related violence takes place at all? Was Monica Sales stabbed because of her or other Tennis players’ misconduct? Do English and French football team supporters fight because their players are not gentleman enough? Kolkata test of 1999 had to be completed in an empty stadium because Shoaib Akhtar was breaching code of conduct? Answer is plain no. There is only one reason for all this and that is ultimate passion for a sport or towards a player by fans.

So should we kill this passion? For survival of any sport public interest and their passion for it is more important than anything else. If you are a vibrant sport you have to have it. Of course that also means there will be occasions when passion overflows, by players and by ‘hooligans’ but you don’t call any sport a ‘hooligan’s sport and undignified it. You don’t warn your players instead of keeping crowd in control.

I may call cricket my life but I am a sports lover in general. I offer my apologies to any soccer fans for Mr. Speed’s regrettable remarks on their beautiful game.