AMMAN: Jordanians took to social media to express their anger and dismay over the death of a 12-year-old boy who was killed during violent clashes while celebrating his football club Al-Wehdat’s derby victory over arch-rivals Al-Faisaly.
Police said that Hassan Haitham Abu Ramadan died after being struck by a “concrete block” during street celebrations in Amman’s eastern Markah neighborhood.
Amer Sartawi, a spokesperson for the Public Security Department, said that an investigation revealed that the block had been hurled by a 16-year-old boy thought to be a fan of Al-Faisaly.
“The 16-year-old boy has been arrested and admitted to throwing the stone at the victim out of rage from the result of the football match,” Sartawi said, adding that the teenager had been referred to the judiciary.
Al-Wehdat reached the semifinal of the Jordan Cup by defeating Al-Faisaly 6-5 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw in Friday’s match which was played in an empty stadium.
The Jordan Football Association had decided to play the decisive match between the capital’s two rivals behind closed doors. Matches between the two teams have resulted in violence, injuries and damage to public property.
Al-Wehdat Club issued a statement expressing condolences over the death of its “Wehdati fan” Abu Ramada, and saying that the “irresponsible and irrational acts of a very small number of people following Friday’s match are alien to Jordanian values.”
Representatives from the two teams visited the Abu Ramadan family on Saturday to offer their condolences.
An article in Ad Dustour newspaper said that fans’ comments on social media before and after matches “are just another type of hate speech that ignites hate and threatens the social cohesion.”
The article called for stricter laws and regulations to deal with stadium violence and “online hooliganism.”
The hashtag #Hassan_Abu_Ramadan has been trending top on Twitter, with many users expressing sorrow over the boy's death, and calling for action to stamp out hooliganism.
“Let’s not have sport if played away from humanism and if it would lead to harming our social cohesion,” Khaleel Al-Bustanji wrote on Twitter.
Ala Obaid said: “I am speechless. We don’t need football if it leads to death.”
