In the SC league match, outrageous screams were heard in Vaasa – Jokerit boss Mikko Saarni is worried

The return of the jokers had been awaited for a long time and the match had a special charge. Jokerit last played in the SM league in the 2013–14 season, after which the Helsinki club switched to the Russian-led KHL league.

On Tuesday, the match was run by Sport’s security manager Janne Suorauhan along quite calmly. There were no fights or physical confrontations in the hall.

“I didn’t get any information from the police that something had happened. I would have found out if something had happened. Everything went more than well – we had prepared for much worse. It was a wonderful event in every way,” says Suorauha.

Inspector Gun Sundqvist according to Ostrobothnia’s police department had prepared for the event with “adequate resources”.

“During the match, there was no unusual disruptive behavior, and the event was peaceful from the police’s point of view,” Sundqvist reports.

However, the match was not completely problem-free and trouble-free.

Home team Between the supporters of Sport and the away team Jokers, sparks already started during the match. The harshest shouting of all was carried over to MTV Katsomo’s live broadcast, when Sport’s fan group referred to the Jokerires’ previous KHL history.

Sport’s fan end was shouted in an understated way, while the Jokers’ supporters jumped in the other end.

Chairman of the Jokers Mikko Saarni followed the events with concern.

“Supporters’ chants bring a wonderful atmosphere to the games, as we noticed again yesterday. Of course, we hope both from our own supporters and from the opponent’s supporters that inappropriate behavior remains to a minimum, even though there is a lot of emotion involved. However, the games are family events and we want even small children and families to be able to come and watch them in a good mood on the spot”, thinks Saarni.

Jokerire’s management has met with representatives of the club’s different supporter groups at regular intervals. The club and supporters are aware that they can receive special attention from supporters of other clubs, especially at the beginning of the season.

“Everyone knew and was aware that there would be shouting because the Jokers cause strong emotions. We, as a club, of course hope that we always stay within the bounds of good taste. Of course, we cannot limit or order our fans to a certain type of activity. We have had a good discussion with them about these issues as well. We of course hope that we will not provoke, provoke, and physically touch others,” says Saarni.

According to Sport’s safety manager Suorauha, it is difficult to intervene in shouting.

“However, it’s very spontaneous. We can’t tape people’s mouths shut at that point,” Suorauha states.

With Jokers had its own challenges a few weeks ago in Vantaa, when some of the club’s supporters behaved inappropriately in a training match against Tappara.

After that, the case was reviewed within the club.

“I know that the majority of our fans clearly want the events to have emotion and to go hard, but in such a way that there are no overshoots and that after the game you can clap your hands regardless of the final result. We have also discussed the issue with other teams and I believe that the hockey community strongly agrees with this”, thinks Saarni.

Jokerit lost their return match, when Sport was better after the winning goal competition with a score of 5–4.

Jokerit will play three away matches in a row in the early season before it gets to play in front of its home crowd at Pasila’s Veikkaus-arena.