Tony BeccaTHE JAMAICA Cricket Board of Control is under fire from irate fans. This time, however, it has nothing to do with the administration of the game.
The fans are angry because of what they describe as mob rule in the Headley Stand and the board's failure to deal with it.
According to a large number of fans who attended the one-day match between the West Indies and South Africa, they bought tickets for the Headley Stand in advance but when they arrived at the match their seats were occupied, when they demanded their seats, they were abused by those sitting in them and they had to sit elsewhere.
The complaint of the fans is that the seats in the Headley Stand are numbered and reserved, they booked their seats and paid for them and the board should have seen to it that they got their seats.
According to representatives of the board, however, it was not the board's fault that the patrons did not get the seats assigned to them. The explanation is that the board employed ushers and security guards, that the police, whose job is to maintain order, were on hand, that it attempted to rectify the situation, and that there were two problems.
The first problem was that the majority of the fans who were occupying the seats refused to move when asked to do so, the second was that when the police attempted to move them, other patrons abused the police - not the offenders.
According to one board member, "we had to back off - either that or we probably would have had a riot on our hands".
A riot is the last thing anyone would want in a stand packed with nearly 6,000 people on a hot day, and although it was tough on those who did not get the seats they booked, maybe the board and the police did the right thing in backing off.
The fans, however, have a right to the seats they book, the board, which needs the support of the fans, is obliged to protect that right and the question now is how to do so?
Sport, as it has long been recognised, mirrors a society, and based on the level of disregard for the rights of others in this society, it won't be easy.
The problem on April 28, was not a case of selling too many tickets, and unlike previous occasions, it had nothing to do with "beaters". The problem was simply a case of people wanting the best seats in the house regardless, and there is a suggestion coming from board members.
The suggestion is that the board reverts to the situation that existed up to 1998 when the seats in the Headley Stand were not reserved and when it was, on the day, first come, first serve.
That, however, would be really bowing to mob rule.
Apart from selling reserved seats for all matches so the fans can get used to it, the suggestions are that the ushers, the security guards and the police get to Sabina Park early. That the patrons, from the first one in, be ushered to their seats and that the guards and the police be positioned so they can deal with any problem that may arise.
It is always better to deal with a few at a time than with many at one time.
It won't be easy, and it will take some time for the selfish among the fans to appreciate good order. In the interest of the game, however, it has to be done.
The right of fans to the seats they book must be protected, and regardless of the problems, the buck stops with the Jamaica Cricket Board of Control and the West Indies Cricket Board. It is their show, and it is their revenue.
