OPINION Dinamo fans provoke, but Csikszereda supporters draw the borders

George Marinescu
English Section / 24 iulie

Dinamo fans provoke, but Csikszereda supporters draw the borders

Versiunea în limba română

Like any football fan, fan or consumer in our country, I was also curious to see how the Hungarian-language press in our country treated the incidents in Miercurea Ciuc between Dinamo supporters and the police, as well as the supporters of the new team promoted from the Szeklerland in the first league of Romanian football.

Although they criticize the press in the capital, the editorialists of the websites Szekelyhon.ro and Kronikaonline.ro have the same tone as the colleagues they accuse.

Neither of the two editorial authors about the match with sparks in Miercurea Ciuc, Kozan Istvan and Pava Adorjan, writes a line about the fact that FK Csikszereda supporters wore T-shirts in which the Szeklerland appeared framed in the map of Greater Hungary at that match with Dinamo. Although both texts criticize, analyze and dramatize the conflict and ethnic tensions that erupted at the Csikszereda - Dinamo match, neither touches on this blatantly provocative reality, which should have been as scandalous as the racist banners and xenophobic chants of the Dinamo fans. If the messages of the Bucharest fans were condemned (rightly) for their inciting and violent tone, then why are the Csikszereda shirts, which projected a revisionist political message, treated with guilty silence? Kozan Istvan carefully avoids the subject, preferring to analyze the performance of state institutions and the passivity of the Hungarian prefect who did not consult with the law enforcement agencies before the match. The author insists that the responsibility for any slippage lies with the Police, the Gendarmerie, the local authorities and, of course, the UDMR, which, if it has put people in key positions thanks to the vote of the Hungarian community, should also react publicly and vocally to any challenge.

So far, nothing to say. But this patriotic vehemence of the columnist stops exactly where it would be inconvenient for his own image: Szekler supporters who wear territorial symbols that suggest a change in Romania's borders do not fall within his sphere of interest.

Why? Because it would mean criticizing "his own"? Because any mention would make a well-rooted political narrative vulnerable?

For his part, Pava Adorjan dresses everything that happened at that match in an ironic metaphor: from the power outage that led to the nighttime lighting system being turned off, which he turns into a joke about the "Szekler trickery”, to the complete demonization of the Dynamo fans, who become the embodiment of the Balkan aggressor, who came to disturb the harmony of an "innocent” community.

But, again, nothing about the fact that an equally inflammatory message was being transmitted from the home stands through those T-shirts that illustrated a map that challenges the current reality of the Romanian state. How can you talk about symbolic aggression, about instigation and disturbance of social peace and completely ignore that your own supporters were displaying an image with a strong political substratum, which directly affects national sovereignty? The same sovereignty in the name of which autonomy is so often invoked.

It is a form of double standard that is difficult to disguise: what is hooliganism for Dinamo, becomes pride of identity for Csikszereda; what is provocation for Romanians, tradition for Hungarians; what is intolerable in one case, evaporates in the other under the pretext of lack of relevance. And this narrative imbalance is exactly what inflames spirits even more, because it induces the idea that there are two types of violence: one visible, shouted and sanctioned, and one silent, aesthetic, almost idyllic, but equally dangerous in its essence.

The fact that experienced columnists choose not to notice or mention this aspect is all the more serious. You cannot claim balance, mutual respect or combating ethnic hatred as long as you do not recognize and condemn all forms of provocation - no matter where they come from.

Yes, it is right to demand that the Gendarmerie intervene effectively, to demand that the message "Out, out with the Hungarians in the country" disappear from stadiums and public spaces, and that those who chant and propagate this message be held liable for minor offenses or criminal charges.

But to the same extent, it must be said clearly and unequivocally: the T-shirts that re-frame Transylvania or the Szekler Land in Greater Hungary are also a form of symbolic radicalism that has no place in a football stadium. To remain silent in the face of this reality does not mean just passive complicity, but indirect support.

Instead of building an atmosphere of joy, sporting competition and unity through diversity around football, we risk turning every match into a symbolic battlefield. And not only because of those who chant or promote such slogans or messages, but also because of those who conveniently remain silent.

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