SINGAPORE: A Singapore Youth League (SYL) football match made the news last week. Not for a spectacular goal or a breakout young talent. Instead, the headlines came after one parent allegedly assaulted another after an Under-14 game between Geylang International and Albirex Singapore Football Academy on May 11.
According to Albirex, the victim was struck with a metal chair. Photos circulated online show the victim with a streak of blood down his left cheek. The incident had reportedly escalated from verbal taunting to physical aggression, all within view of the children.
Let that sink in. Grown adults, attending a youth football match to support their children, ended up engaging in behaviour more suited to a wrestling ring than a community sports field.
CULTURAL ROT
For full disclosure, my son was one of the players in the game. He was subbed off after the first 60 minutes and did not witness the incident.
I too did not witness the altercation, but I’ve seen enough over the years to know that this is not an isolated incident.
We see it in professional leagues – players talking smack, fans hurling insults. But now, it’s bleeding into the sidelines of youth matches.
I get it. Believe me, I’ve been there. I’ve clenched my fists when a bad call went against my child’s team. I’ve muttered frustrations at the referee under my breath. I’ve cheered loudly, maybe too loudly, when we scored. But what happened at the Geylang vs Albirex match was something else. It crossed a line. And it made me reflect – deeply – on the example we’re setting.
Sport inspires emotion. We justify it by calling it “competitive spirit” or “part of the game”. But when insults are hurled at a child, or a parent is mocked from the sidelines, that’s not passion, that’s vitriol.
I’ve seen situations where parents treat football like a personal war. Like they’re defending territory. Like their child’s performance on the field is tied to their own worth.
I’ve watched in disbelief as a coach at a local match shouted to his players, “Kill them! Kill them!”
Are such violent words appropriate at a youth match, or any game for that matter? Children pick up on such hostility. They start sneering at their opponents, refusing to shake hands after a match.
When things get that personal, the game stops being about learning and starts becoming about ego. The idea of sportsmanship becomes secondary to the pursuit of victory.
The SYL, an elite youth football competition under the Unleash The Roar! national project jointly run by SportSG and the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), will likely hold over 4,000 games this year. This will involve over 6,000 young footballers, across 12 age groups.
Meanwhile, the JSSL league, Singapore’s premier youth football league, will hold over 1,600 games.
With multiple matches played every weekend on public fields, incidents of aggressive and inappropriate spectator behaviour are disturbingly common. Match organisers and officials have reported having to deal with fights, racial abuse and threats. There have also been reports of xenophobic remarks directed at players, coaches or fellow spectators.
Sport is meant to teach discipline, teamwork, perseverance and the value of healthy competition – resilience in the face of defeat and grace and empathy in victory.
When the adults lose control, what kind of lessons are we teaching?
Related:
Commentary: Violence has no place on the football pitch in Singapore
