Soccer Marred By Violence Again
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By DERON SNYDER
Violent flare-ups attached to sports occur every now and then in the United States. There was the brutal beating of a San Francisco Giants fan in April. Less than five months later, there were at least two shootings following an NFL exhibition game. A brawl that started in the stands ended a recent high school basketball game in Baltimore.
We decry such incidents, rightfully so, lamenting the loss of perspective, reason and civility when it comes our games. Cheering for your team and wearing its jersey shouldn’t put you at risk of bodily harm –- or worse. We fret over what it says about us and what it teaches our children.
But that’s nothing compared to what we’ve seen in soccer over the years. The “beautiful game,” as it’s known around the world, has a disturbing habit of producing extremely ugly behavior among spectators. The most recent example occurred this week in Egypt, where nearly 80 people were killed in a riot after a soccer game.
