Damage Iranian soccer fans destroyed buses and cars and fought running battles after the brawl between players. More than 60 people were arrested. We lack proper management and planning in sports. As long as there are no cohesive and comprehensive cultural plans and programmes aimed at increasing the social awareness and sensitivity, we can expect more incidents like the one in Azadi Stadium. Player pressures Iran News took a closer look at the pressures on professional football players in Iran and lashed out at the bureaucracy smothering the game.
Rowdyism is nothing new on the football pitch.
Hero worship and the personality cult are partly to blame. They face heavy pressure from the fans to perform. They are tired of constant fixtures that stretch their physical and mental resources to the limit. We are still far from understanding the mechanism of professional sports and the sports-mad mania of the fans. But I've never witnessed such bitter, sad and pathetic scenes like those of last Friday at the Azadi Stadium.