St.George's Fans' Pain and Tears

By Fitsum G.

April 12, 2006

I have been following the fate of Ethiopian football for decades, although I can say I have often been so bitterly disappointed by the performance of our national squad at international competitions that I would rather not venture to the stadium. TV suffices me. My only delightful memory of the 'grandeur' of Ethiopian football extends back to the early sixties when the national side won the Third African Cup of Nations here in Addis, beating the strong and fancied Egyptian side 4-2 after extra time. It was the days of Mengistu Werku, the brothers Luciano and Italo Vassallo, the wing Shewangizaw etc. I remember the excitement in the Stadium when the huge and glittering cup was handed to the captain of the team by Emperor Haile Selassie! People were intoxicated with joy, and for a day Ethiopians thought of themselves as the Champions of Africa! No! Champions of the World!

Unfortunately, since then, we have had only bitter pills to swallow. I don't personally remember of any other similar football glory from any of our national teams that succeeded. What I know is that whenever there was an occasion for the national team to travel to Europe players continued to 'defect', and now so many of our reputed players are away! Every now and then there might have been some cup won at the Eastern and Central Africa level; and in a way, this could be better than nothing. But the fact remains that having been among the pioneers of African football (Ethiopia's Football Federation is among the oldest on the continent, and its squad was among the strongest half a century ago!) this cannot be taken as a success. As in many other endeavours, we have been overtaken by events and circumstances. Suffice it to think of our country as one of the developing nations on the par of Far East countries, (four decades ago) and think of where they are now, and where we find ourselves! This can give any Ethiopian nothing else , but a headache!

In any case, Ethiopian football, we can assert, has been lagging, and the kinds of Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Tunisia, Morocco, S. Africa, even Angola and Togo, have outshined us comfortably. Today, Ethiopia's position in Africa is practically nill. It hardly exists on the African Football scenario, and the recent repeated victories in the so-called Al Amoudi Challenge Cup at the regional level have not revived it. It is true that just the past couple of years, fans are experiencing a new flash of hope, but we can call that only 'ephemeral and precarious'. Too little, too late!

One such hope would have been the recent exploits of St George Club, perhaps the most prestigious team in our land. In its participation at the African Clubs Championship this year, St George has managed to eliminate, at the 1st round, nothing less than the Egyptian Champions, ENPPI. True, this has filled with joy the St George fans, but it was shared by other Ethiopians as well. It was unprecedented at the club level. However, the next game with the Hearts of Oak of Ghana was to have both a moment of joy as one of extreme distress. People's initial fears were that the run of the Saints was to be halted, but what came out was an absolutely exceptional performance by the team, winning in front of a capacity crowd of home fans, with an emphatic 4-0! Phenomenal! Fans were exhilarated by such victory. But the tragedy was yet to materialize in the return match in Ghana.

In fact, it was in the morrow of the humiliating defeat that Hearts of Oak boasted and vowed that they would reverse the result. But that was not exactly what happened. From the reports we have up to now, there was nothing sportive about what the Ghanaian Football Federation did to our champions. Rather, our team was subjected to a sequence of anti-sport and shameful episodes, and events that should be totally wiped out of the continent's football scenario!

The Saints were reserved with the worst sorts of hospitality imaginable, beginning with subjecting them to a deliberately long, painful road journey to the country side (so that they would not be relaxed). The persistent harassment by security people, the story over what kind of t-shirts and shorts they were allowed to vest, not to talk about the restrictions on the freedom to film the match. What happened to Demissie Damte, the journalist who was accompanying the team, was even tragicomic! We could not understand what all such harassment and intimidation had to do with a peaceful sportive event. Was it by resorting to such extra-sportive behaviour that the Ghanaian champions intended to reverse the result of the first game? If so, it is just a shame, and we don't understand how the African Football Federation could turn a blind eye to such an unedifying act! We know that there is a lot at stake in competitions of this caliber. We know that the humiliation that Hearts submitted at the hands of a little known East African team is burning. However, the way it reacted is even more disgraceful, and tarnishes the image of an otherwise exemplary and friendly nation: Ghana.

Finally, the integrity of the referee was also questioned given the kind of pronouncements he made at the pitch. (In less than half of the match, six St George players were subjected to yellow cards, two controversial penalties were awarded to Hearts, and an indirect spot kick in the penalty box for an alleged irregularity committed by the Saint's goalkeeper! ) All this and the rest finally convinced the Ethiopian side to abandon altogether the pitch, with maximum indignation! Spirits were boiling! There was nothing that resembled to a decent football game, they argued! Admittedly, the rules of the game may sanction that a team should always try and finish the match, and then present a plea! Impossibility to continue can be decided only by the referee of the match. Some say, the Saints perhaps have not done well to go out in protest! Perhaps they should have finished the game any way. But under the circumstances, they should not have compromised to get into the field in the first place! For instance, they should have secured their rights to film the game (that would serve as a proof of any eventual misdeed by the referees and/or players, the security, the public etc. )

In the final analysis, what the CAF has decided is that the Saints are guilty! Walking out of the game by itself has made them punishable, costing them elimination! Of course, fans of St George were seen in extreme distress; some even could not withhold their tears. Finally, when the team was playing very well, blessed with great results, here is a 'mischief' orchestrated by a defeated rival team, aborting their dreams! What follows is still to every one's conjecture. Probably the CAF authorities themselves do not know which measures to take. Their reputation is definitely at stake. They are creating a new precedent! Ethiopian Football Federation president Dr Ashebir Wolde Georgis and St. George Team Board Chairman Ato Abinet Gebre-Maskal have flown to Cairo to argue in favour of their team, but the results up to now do not seem promising. We have heard many disappointed fans stating that may be the team's leaders and the Ethiopian football authorities did not do their homework properly in terms of exposing the team well to the rules of the competition, or that they should have stopped the team from getting into the pitch, under the stated ugly circumstances! In any case, the tragic result has been, Hearts are to continue in the competition, and they are to meet l'Etiole de Sahel, Tunisia.

Many people have concluded that such fact is a huge setback if not defeat to the aspirations of East African youths who would otherwise be inspired by the glowing success of a team from the Horn! It is evident that St George has shown to be the better side of the two, and under normal circumstances, only what could be defined as a miracle could have enabled Hearts to reverse such a large score as 0-4. However, one cannot avoid thinking that CAF has once again failed African sports fans. Once again, we have been made a point of mockery! How can our football manage to develop if it is obstructed by such ugly incidents? The only consolation that fans of Saints have is that they can be proud of the progress that their team is making, and that, as the Saint's coach Muecci himself asserted, 'the march of St George on African football cannot be arrested, despite 'the Ghana disaster'!'