Just as a reminder, the views expressed in this blog are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Tampere Unitedin kannattajat (TamU-K).

Our next match is a bit of a weird one, as on Friday we are going to play an away match against NePa Talent at Kaukajärvi, our usual home field. Of course playing home and away matches on the same field is not unusual at this level, but for us Kaukajärvi has almost become a fortress, and it feels weird to be going there without the club producing match day programs or talking about who is going to take care of the sausages.

For us this is an important match against one of the better teams in our subdivision. However, most people in the club aren’t talking about the match as much as they are talking about the news that came out yesterday. Namely, the Tampere District of the Finnish FA decided to fine TamU-K for failing to prevent the use of flares and smoke bombs in two of our earlier home matches against NePa Talent and Pelikassit. The amount was 100 euros plus an additional 40 euro administrative fee.

Obviously, 140 euros is significant money for a club that plays in the bottom division. But it is what it is, and I guess the club has no choice but to pay up. Personally I’m more concerned about the appearance that certain people in (relatively) high places seem to want to kill an important aspect of supporter culture. Even my six-year-old nephew who is a little scared of noisy things gets it: he thinks that TamU-K’s matches are more exciting than others, and I can guarantee he does not understand enough about the football for that remark to have anything to do with what goes on the field.

In all seriousness, in my opinion banning pyro that is done in a safe manner in a place where there is absolutely no risk of pyro getting out of control is unnecessary and harmful. Both players as well as spectators enjoy the added atmosphere created by pyro. Of course I understand the safety concerns in a crowded stadium, but we are playing at an open field in front of at most about 100 people. And obviously even in a crowded stadium pyro can be used safely, and rules that outright ban pyro are stupid for any level. To ban pyro in Kutonen is just absurd. And even if the suits that decide on the fines feel compelled to issue fines when they get a report of pyro use from a referee, I cannot help but wonder what motivates a referee to report the use of pyro in Kutonen. Nobody was harmed, nobody was in danger, and the match was not disrupted. Everybody was just having a good time.

And of course there is the question of why have I never before heard about anybody getting a fine for pyro in the leagues governed by the Tampere District of the FA (Kolmonen through Kutonen). I’m not one that is inclined to believe in conspiracies, but the fact is that pyro is frequent in the matches of certain teams that I do not have to name for anybody who has been following lower league football in and around Tampere. I’m of course not calling for more fines to other clubs. Quite the opposite in fact. But it seems to fit the picture a little too well that Tampere United, the darling club of the Finnish FA, again gets special treatment that nobody else seems to have ever received. But of course it could all just be a coincidence. As a supporter of Tampere United it is great to see that the club still evokes strong emotions both for and against.

But let’s get back to Friday’s match against NePa Talent. At the beginning of June we won them 7-2 in a match for which the description of a must win match is an understatement. The club came into the match in a bit of a crisis atmosphere due to a bad start to the Kutonen season: we had tied our first match 2-2 away at TaPa 2, won our second match 12-0 home against PiPo-79, but then suffered a 0-2 away loss at Pelikassit after a frustratingly bad performance. All sorts of discussions were going on within and around the club, and some of us were already starting to doubt if we had what it would take to reach our goal of getting promoted. I honestly do not know where we’d be today if we had not won that match.

Such a high scoring victory cannot be expected this time. Reports from NePa’s previous match indicate that they played the whole match with just ten men, but still managed to hold Pelikassit to a 0-0 draw until the last minute of the match, when NePa finally conceded a goal that gave Pelikassit the all important three points. Therefore, the assumption has got to be that we are into a low scoring match. TamU-K has almost everybody available for this match, and with our defense lead by goalie Ilkka ”Eazy” Innola intact, NePa Talent has to do really well to be able to score on us.

The excitement starts tomorrow at 7:15 pm at Kaukajärvi, and the supporters are looking to party it up from the kick-off until the small hours of Saturday morning. This is in fact our last match on a weekend until the last match of the regular season about a month from today. The three matches in between are all on a weeknight, so let’s all take full advantage of this opportunity. And yes, that comment is directed to the team as well, because going to the bar after the match just isn’t nearly the same if you cannot take the three points with you.