The media is playing a vicious role in creating intolerance among fans of sports teams in the Saudi society.

A recent survey on sport intolerance in the country revealed that some of the TV channels and radio stations tend to create heated arguments between sports commentators and heads of various sports clubs, even involving officials in some cases.

The survey was conducted by the department of public opinion polls at the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue (KACND).

KACND launched a number of initiatives to curb sports intolerance, to hamper an emerging trend noticed in various media outlets.

Survey participants — over 1000 people including men and women aged between 16 and 50 years from across the country — called for a ban on journalists who raised intolerance level among sports teams.

The survey showed that about 90 percent affirmed the need for a ban on instigating journalists and about 84 percent demanded laws aimed at curbing sport fanaticism, while 80 percent suggested a time lag to give shake hands with winning players. About 61 percent said players should exchange shirts after each game.

The poll revealed that about 50 percent of respondents answered that the root of the problem is how the rival team snubs their players, while 26 percent see the problem in sports programs who frequently abuse their favorite clubs. On the other hand, 24 percent believed that the reason for intolerance are the biased referees, while about 36 percent believe that negative attitude stemming from the rival club against their team is the main culprit.

Some 40 percent of respondents claimed to feel disturbed when the opposing team is playing better, and about 22 percent of them believe that their team is entitled to win, even with low technical level in the game.