President of the Dominica Football Association (DFA), Glenn Etienne, says that the association is seeking permission from the authorities to reschedule the DFA Recovery Knockout Cup competition which was called off mid-match on Sunday.
About 13 minutes into the final game between Harlem F.C and Bath Estate F.C on Sunday 15th November, after several unsuccessful calls by DFA officials and members of the police force for spectators to sit apart from each other, the authorities decided to end the match and ordered everyone to vacate the Windsor Park Sports Stadium (WPSS).
“We are hoping that the match can take place on Sunday coming [November 22nd]. We have to do the necessary protocols over. We will have to reapply to the police, however, I would think that they would approve. We also have to put different measures in place in terms of security, ” Etienne told Dominica News Online (DNO).
Before the match, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the DFA Gerald George announced on Friday that due to the new COVID-19 regulations put in place last week, only 200 persons would be allowed into the stadium for the event. He said that figure included the players, vendors, security, media personnel, and the match officials, which only left room for 80 spectators.
But according to Etienne, “Once we got to 80, we realized there were still several persons outside and I understood that some of them proceeded to jump the fence, which is another reason why the police decided to end the game.”
Speaking on changes that will be implemented, the president noted that a discussion is underway to have tickets sold at the DFA office before the game on Sunday.
“We’re hoping that this doesn’t happen anymore but from the DFA standpoint, we have no control of what happened on Sunday,” he said. “I think the DFA did everything we could have done in terms of following the protocols because we had a walk through with the police and health professionals before the game.”
He encouraged football lovers to adhere to any guidelines put in place by the authorities to ensure the safety of all.
Too many citizens don’t like to follow rules. When supporters refuse to conform, they are excluded. Simply do likewise. It has been done in European leagues and more recently in international cricket matches.
Matter solved. It’s as simple as that!!
HOTEP!
Hello and good evening my people. If the spectators don’t want to abide by the rules then play the game without any spectator or put it on tv as a pay per view event.