Footballers fear for lives as PPFL continues
Teams demand stripping Karachi of right to host matches.
KARACHI:
The country’s federation has decided against shifting Pakistan Premier Football League Football’s (PPFL) matches from the KPT Stadium, where two spectators were shot during a match between PIA and KESC.
The incident, which took place on Friday and left one dead while another severely injured, has raised fear among the footballers participating in the league. However, the teams are being forced to play at the KPT Stadium after the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) decided to turn down the request of shifting the matches elsewhere.
Players of visiting teams, such as Pakistan Navy, PAF and Pakistan Army have claimed that their stay in Karachi has been very stressful due to safety concerns during the matches.
“It has been traumatic in a lot of ways,” Army captain Jaffar Khan told The Express Tribune. “We had to travel to the stadium in the midst of gunshots near Lyari where the security situation is dreadful.
“We play a sport because we enjoy it. But if playing football begins to threaten our lives, we have no choice but to refuse. The fear has a major impact on the way we play and we cannot risk our lives.”
KESC captain Essa Khan echoed the same views and said that his team has been scared to play home matches. He added that KESC has protested against the incident and called for the venue to be changed immediately.
Meanwhile, a match commissioner stated that teams had also threatened to pull out of the PPFL if their matches were not shifted from Karachi.
NBP defeat KPT
NBP defeated KPT 2-0 in the PPFL match in Karachi on Sunday. Faisal Iqbal broke the deadlock in the 36th minute and Abdul Aziz doubled the lead in the 81st minute. NBP will, however, have to play their next game without striker Amir Siddiq, after he was booked twice for foul play during the match.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 18th, 2011.
The country’s federation has decided against shifting Pakistan Premier Football League Football’s (PPFL) matches from the KPT Stadium, where two spectators were shot during a match between PIA and KESC.
The incident, which took place on Friday and left one dead while another severely injured, has raised fear among the footballers participating in the league. However, the teams are being forced to play at the KPT Stadium after the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) decided to turn down the request of shifting the matches elsewhere.
Players of visiting teams, such as Pakistan Navy, PAF and Pakistan Army have claimed that their stay in Karachi has been very stressful due to safety concerns during the matches.
“It has been traumatic in a lot of ways,” Army captain Jaffar Khan told The Express Tribune. “We had to travel to the stadium in the midst of gunshots near Lyari where the security situation is dreadful.
“We play a sport because we enjoy it. But if playing football begins to threaten our lives, we have no choice but to refuse. The fear has a major impact on the way we play and we cannot risk our lives.”
KESC captain Essa Khan echoed the same views and said that his team has been scared to play home matches. He added that KESC has protested against the incident and called for the venue to be changed immediately.
Meanwhile, a match commissioner stated that teams had also threatened to pull out of the PPFL if their matches were not shifted from Karachi.
NBP defeat KPT
NBP defeated KPT 2-0 in the PPFL match in Karachi on Sunday. Faisal Iqbal broke the deadlock in the 36th minute and Abdul Aziz doubled the lead in the 81st minute. NBP will, however, have to play their next game without striker Amir Siddiq, after he was booked twice for foul play during the match.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 18th, 2011.