CEBU, Philippines - Officials of the Cebu Football Association (CFA) shed light on the fight-marred game between the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu and Alcoy FC in the boys under-18 division of the 16th Aboitiz Cup last Sunday, even as they also assured to punish all those involved in the ugly incident that dealt a major blackeye not only in the local football scene but also in the entire Cebu sports community.
"It is most unfortunate that it happened in this beautiful game of football, but it's something that is beyond our control," said lawyer Julius Entice, member of the CFA disciplinary committee, in a press conference yesterday at the CFA office aimed at giving the public a bigger and clearer picture of what really transpired during the match that saw a father of an Ateneo player attacking and injuring the head of Alcoy FC's goalkeeper.
Entice said they have already conducted a series of meetings and look at all the consequences surrounding the disgraceful incident - a first of such magnitude in a developmental sports tournament in this side of the country.
Based on the account of witnesses they called upon during their extensive investigation, Entice said the incident started when the game became tight and so intense that several fouls were called, yellow cards were issued and the referees gave warnings to players from the opposing sides to somehow diffuse the tension.
At the 37th of the first half, Mon Ferdinand Osorio of Alcoy FC was whistled for a foul against Thirdy Pepito of SHS-Ateneo, who in turn made a provocative gesture but nothing in contact. When the referee intervened to avoid further confrontation, Osorio allegedly threw a punch at an Ateneo player and a commotion ensued.
All hell broke loose when a boy from the bench of Alcoy FC wearing green t-shirt and black short pants entered the field and managed to hit four Ateneo players. Since it happened near their bench, some Ateneo players were forced to join the fray. Some spectators also rushed to the playing field, but not to fuel the brawl but to calm the situation down.
Alcoy FC coach Chris Niño de los Santos gave the identity of the boy who instigated the free-for-all, but The Freeman is withholding his name because he's a minor.
De los Santos himself expressed deep regrets over the incident but Entice said sanctions must be made on erring parties.
"We are not only looking at the culpability of the players, but also the conduct of the coaches because they are the ones who have direct control and supervision to their teams," said Entice. "We are continuing our inquiry and rest assured individual sanctions must be made to all persons involved. We cannot turn a blind eye on this."
Entice, on the other hand, confirmed that there was another disturbing incident that transpired on the other side of the field at the same time the brawl took place.
The game officials did not take notice of it, but it was caught on camera by the photographer of a local daily who happens to be at the right place and at the right time. It showed a father of an Ateneo player apparently attacking his son's teammate who was headlocked by the goalkeeper of Alcoy while they grappled on the ground. It later turned out that the said father injured and bloodied the head of Alcoy’s goalie.
"Unfortunately, the game officials did not see it that is why we are appealing to those who have more pictures or videos showing the whole thing to submit them to us. We really have to come up with a thorough investigation so we can hand out appropriate sanctions to those involved," said Entice.
CFA Vice President Rico Navarro said they will call for another press conference anytime today to announce what sanctions they will impose on the erring parties.
For its part, the Aboitiz Group, the event's chief corporate backer, has expressed its concern over what happened that is contrary to the values of teamwork, discipline and sportsmanship they uphold when they launched the annual tournament 16 years ago.
"We are very concerned about the incident that happened during a football game in the Aboitiz Cup last Sunday and will not condone this unacceptable behavior," said the Aboitiz Group in an official statement released to different media outlets.
"The Cebu Football Association (CFA), the organizer and implementer of the Football Cup, is currently investigating the matter and will send us their report once it is complete. Meanwhile, we wish for the speedy recovery of those who were hurt, especially the children, during the incident. We trust that the CFA will take the right and immediate measures to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future."
"The Aboitiz Football Cup was created 16 years ago to promote the values of teamwork, discipline, sportsmanship, and even education itself, among the youth and hope that these values will continue to be upheld," it added.
Meanwhile, SHS-AdC has also issued a statement regarding the incident."We deeply regret the events that had transpired at the football game between SHS-AdC and Alcoy FC. It was something that nobody had wanted to happen, and we would review and look into how it can be avoided. We are also looking at the personalities involved and would work with the ongoing investigation of the CFA. Meanwhile, we also ask the media to be more prudent and also take a look at the bigger picture of what transpired." (FREEMAN)