Truth be told, this has been a shit season for AIK, and the fact that we won everything last year seems more and more surreal, there’s just been too much going on around the team and the arena. Players have been sold under circumstances not entirely known to us fans, and new contracts with brilliant players have not been signed on time, leading to one of them know being what’s called a “Bosman case“. This means he’s free to go to another club after his contract with AIK ends, but also that AIK gets no money whatsoever for him, since the contract’s come to an end. This is AIK’s fault – the team should’ve signed a new contract with him last year already but chose not to. However, now this young man, Walid Atta, is under severe pressure and threats from some of the team’s so called “supporters”. It’s so disturbing, shocking and disgusting – his car has been vandalized, he’s been notified that his “protection” ends on Aug 31st and so on. It’s just horrible.
He’s one of my favourite players – he’s brilliant – and the way the team is playing this year, we can’t really afford to have him not play. But that’s just the thing AIK’s board has decided on. He’s not to be taken out on the team for the remainder of his contract. Hm. Isn’t this exactly what “the firm” demanded at one of the last games? Most peculiar – it’s almost as if the board is doing what the firm “tells” them to do…
We also got a new coach this summer – a Scot, Alex Miller, who’s so un-Swedish in his ways, it ain’t funny. He threatens journalists and is plain rude in media – I’m finding it hard to like him. But in his defense, the team has performed better since his arrival.
Other great things going on is a football player being accused of buying sex, and it’s so blatantly obvious who it is, as well as the latest big riot after the game on Thursday against Levski Sofia from Bulgaria. I don’t understand it, I really don’t. We played really well, and ought to have won but didn’t take care of our chances, so the game ended 0-0. This means we still have a chance at the away game next week. Or, rather, that we had a chance. Now I fear for not only any fan crazy enough to go to Sofia’s safety, but also the safety of the team. I reckon things’ll get ugly down there on Thursday. Like, really ugly. Retaliation in the world of football is never pretty. Also, AIK is now looking at huge fines and possible bans: from fans coming to games, or even to be excluded from European tournaments in the future.
Me and my footy boys have talked about what to do, what in heavens name we could do, as fans, to show where we stand – that WE DO NOT ACCEPT THIS, but we’re at a lack of ideas. If we decide not to go to the games anymore, we’re not there to support the team, and the people who are out to scare the “normal” supporers win, if you will, and that’s the last thing we want. We hope AIK’s board now really carry through on what they’ve said – that they identify the culprits from Thursday night, and fine and ban them from ever coming to a game again. They don’t belong at a football stadium.
Whoa, I just read a football post. 😉
Wow, and I thought Bajen fans were bad! I’m glad I’m an NHL supporter, where we don’t have to worry for our safety at a game because of hooligans.