A fan makes a point to a police officer during a Kenyan Premier League match between Gor Mahia and Bandari at Ukunda Stadium, Kwale County on November 6, 2024.
A video of a supporter of National Super League team Migori Youth FC slapping a match official on the football pitch on Sunday before running and kicking an armed female police officer went viral.
The regrettable incident happened during a National Super League match between Migori Youth and home team Nairobi United at M-Pesa Foundation Academy in Thika.
Two weeks ago, an altercation between armed police officers and a section of fans at Dandora Stadium in Nairobi after a Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL) match between home team AFC Leopards and Murang’a Seal left the sports fraternity in shock.
In a shocking act captured in a video, a football fan is seen daring armed police officers to a fight, before the fan slaps one of the police officers. Although he was tempted to use his firearm, the police officer exercised great restraint and, with the help of his fellow police officers, walked away from the altercation.
In the video that also went viral, some football fans can be heard praising the police officers for exercising great restraint. The two incidents in Thika and Dandora point to the return of hooliganism in local football.
Whereas the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has condemned the acts of hooliganism and vowed to take stern action against the culprits, the two incidents appear to be only the tip of the iceberg. While acknowledging that some of the incidents stem from acts of poor officiating, the federation has pledged to take steps to improve standards of officiating across all levels of local football through enhanced training of referees, and capacity building.
“As part of our commitment to improving standards of officiating in local football, FKF continues to prioritise referee development and capacity-building initiatives across the leagues. The federation is already taking steps to enhance the quality and consistency of officiating in local matches,” FKF said in a statement on Wednesday.
“FKF strongly condemns any form of hooliganism, including attacks on match officials and security personnel. Such incidents have no place in football and individuals found culpable will face strict action. The relevant FKF committees will convene to review recent cases and take appropriate measures in line with established regulations,” the federation added.
In addition to poor officiating by match officials, Gor Mahia’s Safety and Security Officer (SOS) Lawrence Odhiambo on Friday told Nation Sport that hooliganism has persisted in Kenyan football because local clubs are yet to take security matters seriously during matches.
Odhiambo, who has been trained by the Confederation of African Football, stated that while most clubs have employed SOSs, the majority are not supported with travel arrangements to enable them assess safety and security of stadiums before matches.
Chaotic scenes during a Kenyan Premier League match between Gor Mahia and Bandari at Ukunda Stadium, Kwale County on November 6, 2024.
He added that animosity that is evident between police officers and football fans during matches points to lack of enough trained stewards who can educate supporters at the branch level on the importance of fostering goodwill in football, has contributed to the vice.
“Clubs have SOSs who are CAF-accredited but they have not acknowledged them on what they were trained for. While security in matches is very fundamental, the department is the least funded such that the SOSs cannot travel to match venues early to assess the security situation and come up with an elaborate safety plan before matches, including the number of stewards capable of handling a given match,” said Odhiambo.
“Police officers are not trained according to CAF standards to manage fans. Even then, Fifa rules forbid carrying of guns around ‘Zone A’ (the pitch area). In our situation, because of how police officers have been treating demonstrators, most of the fans see them as enemies. It is upon the federation to train more stewards because they come from local clubs which have branches so it is easy for the clubs to sensitise fans on goodwill in football,” he added.
In the history of Kenyan football, matches involving Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards have witnessed the most incidents of match hooliganism.
Late last year, supporters of the two clubs attacked their respective coaches - Leonardo Neiva and Zedekiah Otieno of Gor Mahia, and Tomas Trucha of AFC Leopards over poor performances.
The two clubs eventually bowed to pressure from fans and parted ways with Neiva and Trucha while Otieno returned to his former role of assistant coach at Gor Mahia.
Croatian Sinisa Mihic is the new coach of Gor Mahia, while Leopards are being handled by Fredrick Ambani on an interim basis. Over the years, FKF has imposed penalties on clubs following fan trouble. These have included fines, docking points, ordering that the clubs play a certain number of their home matches behind closed doors, and also covering the medical expenses of those injured.
In the past, AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia have been ordered to meet the costs of repairing damaged property in stadiums.
Last year, former FKF CEO Patrick Korir said that although the sanctions have significantly helped reduce acts of hooliganism in local football, clubs have the biggest responsibility in helping curb the menace.
“Docking of points worked in 2015, but the best way to deal with acts of hooliganism is at the club level. Clubs need to sensitise their supporters so as not to engage in acts of hooliganism,” Korir said at the time.
