Harsh sanctions await erring football players

Cebu Football Association (CFA) vows to give stiff sanctions to erring players of Hiroshi Football Club and Crazy Horse, who figured in a disgraceful free-for-all in the 3rd Thirsty Football Cup semifinal round last Sunday.

Cebu Football Association (CebuFA) chairman Jonathan "Maxi" Maximo said CebuFA will also be handing out sanctions to the players even if it would mean that no team will represent Cebu in the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) men's regional championships next month in Dumaguete City.

Hiroshi FC earned the berth to represent Cebu City in the regional games after beating Crazy Horse in the 9th Aboitiz Men's League last month.

As stipulated in the PFF catalogue of punishments, the ugly incident will earn the teams or players two-year ban in any tournament sanctioned by PFF, the governing body of football.

On the other hand, the organizing group, Thirsty Juices and Shakes, will also be giving out its sanctions, which would mean lifetime banning of the erring teams from the Thirsty Cup.

It was the second time that members of Hiroshi FC were involved in a brawl. The first was against Exas International early last year during the final game of the Aboitiz Men's League, where four of its players got suspended.

"The previous incident may aggravate the problem. But I don't mind if we can not send any team in the regional because if we do so, it might get the wrong signal. As president, I will try to be fair to impose the appropriate penalty," said Maximo.

"It's painful to do it, but I have to so we don't lose respect and credibility (from the Cebu football community)," added Maximo. If Hiroshi FC gets suspended, the first runner-up Crazy Horse will take the place.

But both teams are in precarious situations as the Crazy Horse manager allegedly harassed organizer Neil Montesclaros during the opening day after the later refused to gave in to the request of the Crazy Horse manager, who wanted to change half of his line-up.

This would leave third placer University of San jose-Recoletos as the probable entry to the regional tilt.

To avoid brawls in future tournaments, CebuFA, according to Maximo, will take an active role in terms of technical committee and the status on the eligibility of players.

"We will not let this pass. I will let heads roll definitely. There have been negative accusations and insinuations before that our judgements were unfair," said Maximo.

Although last Sunday's fracas tainted football's image, Maximo said that football has already gained strong following.

"I can admit that its growing but we can not cope with the demand yet. We can not control the crowd especially that it's a festival type. People are getting passionate of the game but it this goes out of hand," Maximo said.

The CebuFA is set to meet on Thursday for deliberation and evaluation.