Incheon United has been disciplined by the Professional Football Federation for throwing water bottles. The penalty is 20 million won, and the seats for home games are closed for five games. Incheon induced the throwers to voluntarily report on the condition that they were not held accountable for civil or criminal reasons. Incheon banned some 100 people who voluntarily reported to the stadium for an indefinite period of time. The team also offered a condition that certain volunteer activities would be exempted from disciplinary action. Incheon Supporters are engaged in activities to collect funds from the club.
Immediately after the end of the Incheon-Seoul match on the 11th, the Incheon Supporters’ water bottle throwing incident in the back of the Seoul goal ended like this.
It is a desirable measure to discipline supporters, clubs, and Seoul goalkeeper Baek Jong-beom. Supporters have caused great damage to the club. It was wrong for the player to react with violence even though he provoked it first. Supporters threw water bottles despite Incheon’s request for restraint. If our children, family and friends were players on the ground, would we have been able to throw water bottles? The Incheon club’s preemptive countermeasures were also effective. It was impressive that the team provided opportunities and conditions for the thrower to reflect on himself by inducing him to voluntarily report. Supporters who admitted to throwing without much resistance and voluntarily reported it showed self-reflection although they were late. Baek, who acted excessively in retaliation for negative supporting, admitted his mistake immediately after the game. The Seoul club initially tried to raise objection to Baek’s disciplinary action against him to the Korea Professional Football Association, but later reversed its stance. It is not necessarily a bad thing that Seoul supporter Suho-shin raised funds for Baek. Supporters want to protect the goalkeeper who protects his team’s goal in any way.
Supporters are the driving force behind the scenes to boost the mood of cheering for fans in stadiums. Without them, it is hard to imagine a K-League. The enthusiastic supporting they are throwing up is also a huge attraction to watch. However, if they fail to control themselves, they could pose a serious risk to themselves. Not many fans are pure-minded about irresponsible acts that they do under the pretext of loving soccer and caring for their teams. Of course, I understand how they want to win and protect their own teams. However, this does not mean that people should tolerate low-quality swear words and throwing things on the ground.
Nowadays, there is not much atmosphere in the supporters’ organization where the entire group is swayed by the minority of hardliners. The mood of heroism toward hardliners has disappeared. Hardliners lost individual power due to division, and now mostly moderates lead the supporters’ organization. Other supporters are seen collectively responding, saying, “Don’t curse” or “The kids are listening” to the violent and low-quality swearing made by some hardliners. “If supporters fail to self-purify themselves, the influx of new supporters may not be successful, or ultimately, the number of spectators centered on the family may decrease,” said a supporter of a professional team. “Brave sense of superiority and good people’s consciousness can lead to the removal of fans from the stadium by ignoring the majority of fans,” a source in the soccer community criticized, “The reckless behavior that makes them not want to bring their children with them is malicious.” Another club source said, “Some supporters are mistaken that they represent the entire club’s fans,” adding, “I can sense their intention to shake the club as they wish without losing their innocence even in a protest in front of a local government.” 안전놀이터
Supporting the supporters is of course free. If such damage is done to the club, the team and many fans, then it would be self-inflicted and more like a crime against others. Some suggest placing a net or steel net on the supporters’ seats. Few would like it. Nobody would dare treat themselves as a potential criminal. After all, everything is up to the supporters’ efforts to self-purify and self-control. If this does not happen, intervention and sanctions at the level of professional federations and clubs are inevitable.
Supporters and clubs should communicate progressively with each other while maintaining an appropriate distance. If both sides run parallel lines while shouting “My Way,” another violence inside and outside the ground can be repeated at any time. There will be no problems with supporters, both big and small, but the best way to minimize incidents and solve problems in the event of an accident is for all officials to put their heads together.