By Sulayman Bah
Gambian footballer Hamza Barry last week got mired in the news for an issue far from relating to his performances in the pitch.
The midfielder was one of five players of Croatian Premier League side Hajduk Split walking along a pavement when some fans –said to be their owned supporters – in a fit of anger began hurling foul-mouthed rants and racial slurs at the stars.
The supporters’ angst, borne out of the current turbulence gripping the side’s administration which led to the resignation of the team’s president, wasn’t taken lightly by one of the players.
Hamza’s teammate, Ghanaian striker Said Ahmed Said approached the aggrieved group to calm the simmering tension before tempers flared. Hungarian forward Marko Futacs rushed to defend his African teammate but got smacked on the head as he sustained an injury.
Scorpion attacking midfielder Barry wasn’t hurt in the incident. Croatian police in Split have arrested two ‘hoodlums’ who are said to be known to police for their previous crime records.
A statement issued by the Split police department following investigations, said the two assailants –between 21 and 22 years old – have been arrested and are set to face the courts for violence and breaking the peace.
Club outfit Hajduk haven’t dispatched a communiqué over the incident and were in league action yesterday at press time.
This is not the first time Hajduk players are coming under torrents of attack from their own fans after another incident last year November.
