POLITICS OF SUSPENSION IN SOCCER.
Somewhere in 1982-83 soccer season at Sour Ground in Kuwait, in the League cum Knock-Out tournament organized by UG, their match between G.O.A. Maroons and Flying Arrows was abandoned. The confusion started when controversial Referee Jennifer Rodrigues disallowed a clear goal scored by Maroons after blowing his whistle first for the goal. Maroons players asked the referee “why you allowed the goal first and afterwards you changed your mind?” Referee was afraid for his safety from some ruffian type of players from the opposite side. Maroons players stopped playing further unless referee maintained his original position on this goal. Having no choice, referee abandoned the game giving much wanted excuse to UG the great opponents of Maroons to punish Maroons with outright suspension. Then the hell broke out not only at Sour grounds but also in the community since G.O.A. had then the most powerful committee with highly talented and prominent figures, such personalities are not seen anywhere now and such personalities are not existing either now. Maroons supporters and few members then blocked Sour grounds from having further matches there till their issue was sorted out. Supporters of Maroons then joined together and organized a parallel tournament named as Mercedes Cup with the sponsorship of Mercedes Car agents in Kuwait. Most of these supporters were Goans working in Mercedes and they only prepared the second ground at Sour with their efforts.
Because of this suspension more on malicious grounds, a few supporters of Maroons devised a strategy to physically assault some UG members responsible for this suspension of their favourite team and they succeeded in executing their plan in Calangute, Goa when one member of UG was badly assaulted when he came to Calangute beach with his wife and daughter, during his vacation in Goa. There was also a plan to kidnap a school going daughter of UG member in Goa but was not implemented though it could have been easily carried out. This secret I am releasing now to caution our people to think twice before taking any harsh decision on punishing and suspending any team either rightly or wrongly. Suspending a player or a team is not a small matter, it gives a permanent black mark on suspended team or suspended members. Today’s suspension is tomorrow’s revenge either in Kuwait or more in Goa and from my experience point of view this type of revenge can be easily taken as earlier taken. For this reason some people dissociated from involving in soccer in Kuwait not to get involved in kitchen politics
and revenge.
I do not subscribe to indiscipline, discipline should be there but one must not risk one’s safety and that of his family members back at home by applying rigorous mode of discipline. There should be a lenient view and soft punishment for any infringement otherwise one must have guts to face the threat and consequences. As it is I know our people are cowards of first grade, they will only talk. Many of our retired people back at home are living like “chor” in Goa to avoid physical attacks on them for their misdeeds in Kuwait during their employment in Kuwait, these “chors” were known to harass people working under them, for this reason they don’t enjoy peaceful retired life in Goa. Other "chors" in order to avoid such unpleasant life in Goa fled to Canada where you live like a cockroach in isolation. For one person in Magao thru my contacts I had to provide physical cover during one occasion when he was threatened by some people who felt they were harassed in Kuwait by him. Goa is not what it was, it is no more a “Saibachem Goem”, it is become now a “Goondamchem Goem”.
This write-up is necessitated because of the suspension and rigid punishment inflicted on some teams by the KIFF. This apex body KIFF is not flawless, it should not think it is omnipotent and running the affairs of World soccer. Even FIFA is considerate in its punishment. If KIFF was little soft and considerate, today another soccer body would not have been born thereby creating bad blood and divisions among us especially Goans who need more unity and not others running KIFF, "tanchea mar Konkear". The need of unity is great now, even in the Church where most of the KIFF and splittist members go, before the end of the mass priest and other faithfuls read the especial prayer for unity. Do we practice it in our daily life? In the past, to promote Goan causes we made use of Goan unity at Sour Grounds. Split in our soccer activities means a great harm for Goans causes and Goan unity. Munglurkar, Mumbaikar, Keralkar amkam martat konkear. They love our disunity and they are working for it silently.
KIFF is always known to have some idiotic minded members in its fold as it is now and it is due to their idiotic ways of assessing the situation things went thus far though the splittists were not faultless. I am surprised that there is not a single member in our community to patch up the differences erupted. Where are the people boasting of their top positions in their companies? Can't they apply their top wisdom and top power to rise to the occasion and creat some good effect in our midst? Here among us everyone wants to play soccer but due to some mistakes follies can occur. Because of these follies hell should not be brought on to the earth surface We are ultimately all one, we have to see and meet each other back at home. Is it nice to create unnecessary enemies among us and that too because of this KIFF which is a toothless body beyond its own jurisdiction? Even while inflicting punishments on erring players, KIFF used high rudeness in a Hitlerian manner. While punishing some erring players KIFF many times acted worst than Saddam Hussein. Many of its members in the past proved to be fit for nothing though they thought they were running the administration of FIFA. For this reason, once at Panji-Betim Ferry-boat, during his vacation in Goa, one KIFF member was given blows by one such punished player in the open galore of passengers travelling in the Ferry Boat. Good that I was present to stop the blows because I was known to him otherwise as he screamed there, he said “I would throw you in the sea”, to the KIFF member. I hope no KIFF member from Goa would go into the sea in future because of KIFF and politics of suspension.
A few years back some members of the KIFF brought a proposal in the KIFF meeting to punish me for writing critically of KIFF and of Sour ground soccer. Wisdomatic and efficient the then president of KIFF, Mr. Vohra enlightened the house of its folly in proposing punishment for me because he knew KIFF is a paper tiger to confront me. Then I sent a word to those members of KIFF saying “you have to sell your wives to punish me. You are people from the streets in Goa. Kuwait made you what you are today. In Goa you are nothing. In Goa you are adored only by Posorkar – Motorkar & Dukonkar”. See these idiots of KIFF who wanted to punish me when I was nowhere in KIFF nor in any team. These rascals think KIFF and Kuwait is their “xepaicho fath”. If it was not for Kuwait, they would rot in Goa. These persons got girls to marry only because of their employment in Kuwait. But none of them supported Kuwait when we came on to the streets in Goa in support of Kuwait during the invasion of Kuwait. Such anti Kuwait elements still exist, one such is an ex “bebdo” president of KIFF who was also involved in robbing the funds of KIFF and shamelessly moving in society. It was a pity to see KIFF was headed by a "chor" and a "bebdo" elected by members of his calibre in the KIFF. This was the quality of KIFF.
While concluding, I feel some saner counsel must prevail to bring about fusion in our soccer organizers and still it is not too late to bring about this patch up. Some senior members must come forward and do the needful. KIFF must as a senior and seasoned body condescend and thru its official or unofficial emissary start a negotiation to bring back the teams gone away from its fold. While doing this KIFF should not feel defeated or low. By doing this, KIFF will prove its greatness which is required for the smooth functioning of society, of our community and our soccer which is very beneficial for us. To start this soccer none of the current KIFF nor splitted group members done what I have done. Those who have gone astray must also show some elasticity because by returning back they stand to gain more. They must know that by creating a split they cannot succeed in undoing the good work of KIFF during its 25 years of existence. They must respect KIFF as some of them were responsible to support and promote KIFF earlier. After all KIFF is KIFF having a history of 25 years. KIFF has its base which cannot be shattered by the minnows and “Matare” who will soon disappear like ether.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
