Burma Receives a Red Card

No football match has ever caused such shame in Burma as the 2014 World Cup Qualifying Match on July 29 in Rangoon’s Thuwunna Stadium, which turned to violence when Burmese fans pelted the pitch with bottles and stones after Oman was awarded a penalty in the 39th minute.

Burmese fans were infuriated when the Japanese FIFA referee awarded a spot kick to Oman, which striker Ismail al Ajmi converted, doubling the Middle Eastern side's lead to 2-0.

When some angry young men went on a rampage and began throwing water bottles and stones onto the pitch, reportedly injuring a member of Oman's coaching staff, the visiting team’s players and officials were ushered into a makeshift tunnel while being shielded by police officers.

Yeni is news editor of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at [email protected].

Afterwards, FIFA referees and Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) officials cancelled the match due to the Burmese fans' aggression.

The thuggish behavior must be condemned. It not only disgraced our country, it also cast doubt on the future ability of the Burmese national team to compete in and host international games.

“The country could be harmed if FIFA decides not to hold any international games in Myanmar [Burma] because of the violent actions of audience members,” said Soe Moe, a media director at the MFF. “The country’s dignity is hurt because of them.”

But the MFF itself must accept partial responsibility for the incident, because the organization allowed conditions to exist that were conducive to an outbreak of violence that could not be controlled by stadium security.

With the exception of the grandstands—where those entering were required to purchase a ticket—MFF officials allowed fans to freely enter the stadium. Many of the estimated 30,000 in attendance were drunk, some even brought liquor and beer into the stadium, and there were very few security guards to carry out checks at the gates.

The state-owned MRTV, which was broadcasting the match live, cut to music when the violent eruption occurred, and afterwards state and local media either chose or were forced to remain silent about the ugly event. So exile media and social networking sites became the venue for voicing public displeasure and examining the causes of the incident.

In particular, the social networking site Facebook played a significant role in informing the Burmese public about what happened and allowing people to express their feelings about the disgraceful occurrence.

“I think they [the Burmese fans] might not understand or be civilized enough to accept failure. It reflects the manner of the country’s leaders, who have practiced violence for decades,” one person posted online.

This remark shines a spotlight on the ignorance, impoliteness and aggressiveness that have been a fixture of Burmese life for decades, with the example being set by the ruthless military leaders who have controlled society through intimidation and terror, and their business cronies who have run corrupt operations without ethical principles.

In fact, the release of anger and aggression by fans may have been just what former junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe intended when he decided to pump up the sport of football in Burma. According to leaked US diplomatic notes from June 2009, Than Shwe ordered a group of cronies and businessmen to found—and fund— professional football teams, possibly to distract attention from the country’s political and economic problems.

The cable revealed that in January 2009, selected Burmese business persons were told that Than Shwe had chosen them to be the owners of the new professional football teams. The informant, a top executive at one of the sponsor companies, said the owners were responsible for paying all costs, including team salaries, housing and transportation, uniform costs and advertising for the new league. In addition, the owners were required to build new stadiums in their respective regions by 2011, at an estimated cost of US $1 million per stadium.

However, the arrangement was not entirely one-sided. Businessmen were reportedly given incentives that included construction contracts, new gem and jade mines and the opportunity to use club sponsorship as a platform to advertise their companies.