Fair Play: Time for Ricky D, Ricky B to make a stand

MINUTES before extra time in the Cesafi finals, I, a USC fan, told Bro. Mari Aberasturi, a member of the USJ-R coaching staff, "May the best team win!" We didn't get to talk much after shaking hands because a minute after extra time,  Junjun Pintuan, that luckless striker who kept misfiring in regulation, got a lovely pass and beat three defenders for the lone goal of the match.

A match that was witnessed by thousands of screaming spectators. The most I've seen since covering Cebu football in 1997. A match that speaks well of the football community in Cebu--two great teams in one great final.



But what happened after the match? Assistant referee Archie Reyes got attacked by a disgruntled fan? A fan who was so drunk that he thought Archie was fair target. Too bad for him, his drunken stupor led to him receiving a few punches, too.

But enough is enough.

We don't need fans like that guy, identified as a Sunday club player, and we certainly don't need fans having their drinking session at the Cebu City Sports Center.

Smoking isn't allowed at the CCSC and you have guards for it, but, you can have all the alcohol you want?  Both are dangerous habits but alcohol during a heated match where referees' decisions are analyzed and re-analyzed constantly by folks who think they are better? Tsk. Tsk. We can't have any of that. Drinking, like smoking, should be banned at the CCSC.

They say because he was just a fan, there’s nothing the CFA or the CCSC can do about it. That’s where they are wrong.

The CFA and CCSC can do something about him. Make him an example, Throw the full force of the law for Archie against him. And because he’s a Sunday player, ban him for life from all CFA-sanctioned activities and for all events that will be hosted at the CCSC.

And because he was a fan—and possibly hiding behind that—that should be used against him.  If a player did it in a game, the CFA and CCSC need to listen to both sides, but in this case, they only to listen to the referee and him only.

Drunks like him, we don’t need.

Enough is enough!  The CFA and CCSC should use him as an example that drunk or not—whether you are pissed with a call or not—attacking an official carries consequences.

It’s time for CFA president Ricky Dakay and CCSC manager Ricky Ballesteros to act. Protect the officials that work for the game from idiots who destroy it.

God forbid, what would happen if he so decides to attack the referees in the Philippines vs. Singapore match?

Ban him for life, even if he walks on his knees around the oval, begging forgiveness and swearing he won’t do it again.