FFA Attempting To Destroy Active Support

[mack]

Football Federation Australia, with help from Melbourne Victory & the Victorian Police are attempting yet again to destroy Active Support in the A-League.

 

I should be writing my A-League preview right now, but a far more important piece of news has come to light.

 

This article (Football clubs, police crack down on hooligans at Melbourne games) comes out of the Herald Sun of Victoria. The Herald Sun is one part of the all encompassing AFL Propaganda Bubble perpetuated by News Corp (They are an AFL Official Partner) & the AFL's own in-house media wing. The article lists a series of draconian fines, penalties, laws and measures that will be deployed against the Melbourne Victory active supporter group, as well as a confirmation that they will be extended to the rest of the country if successful in Melbourne.

 

These measures are nothing of an attempt to eradicate Active Support from the A-League.

 

Melbourne Victory is first, Heart might be next, but then it will be Western Sydney in the crosshairs of the FFA & Police.

 

The Victorian Police are ingrained into this bubble. They have collaborated with the AFL to ensure that alleged rapists who happen to be AFL players are investigated badly, with officers pressured by their fellow officers to drop their investigations. This behaviour was so poor that this incident is now under investigation by the Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission. The AFL has agreements with the Victorian Police that have the potential to allow the AFL organisation to sweep under the rug illegal betting, drug trafficking, drug use, as well as match fixing. The AFL & the Victorian Police are inextricably linked.

 

The AFL's #1 threat in this country is football. They are running scared of Football. They trashed our World Cup bid. Every week we see articles written by the likes of Graham Cornes, where our sport is attacked by ignorant morons, ingrained from birth to support AFL and only AFL, who see our sport as an un-Australian foreign sport played by immigrants that is a threat to the good order of the nation. Football's big advantages over the AFL are atmosphere, and the youth demographic who are following football but not the AFL. Our sport represents the vast and varied cultural elements and ancestries that make up this nation far better than the anglo dominated AFL does. Supporters of Football are far younger on average than those who support AFL, and our participation levels are through the roof compared to the AFL, without having to resort to dirty tricks like counting school based auskick programs while football only records real club participation.

 

The AFL would gain a clear benefit should the Victorian Police succeed in destroying Active Support in the A-League. Doing so would go a long way to demolishing several of the biggest advantages the A-League has in attracting patrons. The youth demographic, and the atmosphere that draws people into the biggest clubs in the country. Across the A-League the clubs with the best atmosphere attract the most supporters. Last season the highest supported clubs in the league were Melbourne Victory (average crowds over 23,000), Sydney FC (over 18,600) and the Western Sydney Wanderers (over 14,500). While I would not go so far as to claim a causal link, it is without doubt that atmosphere attracts people to matches, and that it is Active support who provide that atmosphere. The FFA use active support constantly in promotions for the A-League.

 

That article outlines the measures that the Victorian Police are undertaking from the start of this A-League season. Instead of standing up for the supporters, the people who pay the bills, Melbourne Victory Football Club & Football Federation Australia have caved, ignorant of the role that active support plays in building these clubs, and allowing the Police and Media to yet again trash the reputation of Australia's active supporters in a manner that does not fit reality. The reality is that Cricket, AFL & NRL all suffer massive problems of their own with supporters being racist, or attacking each other in the street as well as large scale drunken unsocial behaviour.

 

Unlike the other sports however, Football does not have a sympathetic media who sweep most incidents under the rug and leave them unreported. Nor does it have police who say they are "generally happy" when for example, 19 people are arrested in Fremantle following the AFL Grand Final. When 78 people are evicted from the 2012 Melbourne Cup the police describe it the day as "generally well behaved". In 2007 after 192 people were evicted from a cricket match the police "praised overall crowd behaviour". Another cricket match in 2007 where there were 189 evictions and 16 arrests, yet again saw the words "generally happy" being used. In 2009 47 people were arrested in Geelong after the AFL Grand Final. The police described themselves as "obviously pleased" with behaviour.

 

Compare that to the 2013 Melbourne Victory vs Perth Glory final where only 6 evictions were recorded, and Victorian Police Assistant Commissioner Rick Nugent described the night as being filled with "hooliganism". Or when the Police made only three arrests (at least one of which I believe was quashed when it eventually went to court) at the Sydney FC hosted Sydney Derby last season, only for Police to follow that up the next day by calling it a "very serious issue". The FFA & the clubs involved should be correcting the record, releasing the truth, instead of bowing down to vested interests that want nothing more than to tear down our league and our sport and use the demonisation of the supporters who pay the wages of the FFA & A-League clubs to do it. The idea that A-League Active Support is filled with hooligans is a media lie, invented by those in the back pocket of the AFL. Hatamoto agrees and tells the FFA they need to crackdown so they can gain more lucrative contracts, while the Police look for as much taxpayer funded operational money as they can get their hands on.

 

The following measures are listed in bold, with my reaction after. Remember, if we do not fight these changes it will be us soon enough.

 

A dedicated police investigations team headed by a high-ranking detective formed to probe all criminal incidents at A-League matches. Does an A-League active supporter group warrant the kind of investigation force that usually goes after bikie gangs and organised crime? The two most public examples of crowd violence in the A-League last season, the Melbourne Heart vs WSW attack, and the Sydney Derby 'glass throwing', didn't result in any police action at all. Despite the man in Melbourne being shown on HD television with his full face exposed, the police were unable to bring charges against the person. Neither did the police in NSW to my knowledge find the person involved in the glass throwing incident. I'd expect that kind of incompetence from Chief Wiggum, not highly paid 'detectives' who should be out attacking crime gangs, mafia, drug rings, actual criminals, and not people at a football match.

 

Rival teams Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart ban flags and banners of splinter supporter groups in the stands, clamping down on the association of rogue fans. Who decides who is a 'rouge' or a 'splinter'? What exactly does a 'splinter' mean? Does it mean for example the group of mates in the RBB that I stand with in Bay 55, people who I have travelled to Adelaide, Newcastle, Melbourne and Gosford with, who as a collective decided to move out of the over-crowded Bay 56 in order to help create a better atmosphere in Bay 55? Are we a 'rogue' or 'splinter' group? Am I a 'rogue' because I run a website critical of the police, Hatamoto & the FFA? What about the Corner Post Crew? Are they a 'splinter'? Can I and the rest of Bay 55 expected to get banned without reason? What MVFC & the FFA don't seem to understand is that these so called splinter groups are nothing more than groups of mates or people who happen to come from the same geographic area, who attend matches together. I'm sure that is much the case in Melbourne as it is here at the Wanderers. Do I deserve to be targeted because I identify with a group of mates in addition to being part of the overall RBB?

 

Dob-a-yobbo text messaging hotlines for matches at AAMI Park as well as Etihad Stadium for the first time to encourage fans to alert police and security about troublemakers. What a total waste of time and money. There is next to no trouble at A-League matches, and trouble quickly spotted by the hundreds of police or security guards, not to mention that trouble is far less than at NRL, AFL or Cricket matches because of crowd segregation. Last season the only time I ever felt like there was any kind of "trouble" was when the idiots at the Sydney Football Stadium decided they wanted to force what seemed like half the stadium to get crushed in a lineup outside a single gate entrance so they could attempt invasive and pointless searches on everyone who entered.

 

Stronger ticket entry regulations with members forced to scan their pass on entry and again when they reach certain parts of the ground. We already get forced to scan our entry tickets and passes on entry to the ground and people are already sent into specific gate entrances for specific sections of the ground, there is little point whatsoever in tracking people to a level that would not be out of place in the book 1984. Melbourne Victory, instead of allowing their active support to grow like the Wanderers have done, cut the number of memberships from 700 to 500, and will erect barricades that prevent anyone from joining the North Terrace. They will also install scanners to totally ensure that no-one who has a general admission ticket can even think about becoming part of the NT. Is that going to happen to the Wanderers? Will next season see Bay 54 and Bay 58 covered by tarpaulins, with people banned from active support outside bays 55, 56 & 57 under threat of having their memberships torn up? What if the FFA don't think tarpaulins work, or work well enough? Will they introduce cages and metal fencing? Does no-one at the FFA care to learn lessons from history, where people have gone to watch a football match and not come home, because of negligent crowd controls that limited people's freedom of movement.

 

Damien de Bohun is the current head of the A-League for Football Federation Australia, and under his leadership the relationship with Active Supporters between the FFA & several A-League clubs has been destroyed. No-one involved with active support that I know trusts a word that comes out of his mouth. Not when those seeking discussion and constructive dialogue are stonewalled at every turn, then dismissed by him, and the rest of Football Federation Australia. It is my belief that out of everyone at the FFA there is only one person who truly understands active support, and his efforts go to waste when the higher ups at the FFA refuse to engage with active support on any meaningful level. As one example, when those involved with Terrace Australis recently attempted to include the A-League in the discussions about active support, the people at the FFA refused outright to discuss the A-League active support situation. It wasn't their concern.

 

The FFA wasn't interested in A-League active support, they cared only about the Asian Cup. That was their sole focus. They do not want to be embarrassed by travelling Korean, Japanese and other active Asian supporters in our own backyard. What the FFA don't seem to realise is that people involved with TA are involved with active support in the A-League. Some are leaders of their own clubs active support, others perform minor roles, while others are simply part of the overall collective of an club active support group without actually leading them. But no matter what role they play, they still aren't going to roll over for the FFA and play along. They aren't going to sell out the supporters of their own clubs and help the FFA when the FFA won't help the active support in the A-League. With these changes it looks like the FFA are going to try and destroy A-League active support this season, even though the people involved with A-League active support are the same people that will have to run the National Team active support for the Asian Cup.

 

Instead of supporting their customers and active supporters, the FFA & the clubs have helped to demonise them. They have allowed the media and police to blow up minor incidents into cataclysmic portents of doom that to be prevented, require hundreds of police, including members of elite paramilitary special forces units, horse patrols, highway patrol, dog squad, helicopters, hundreds of security guards and the continual waste of money that is paying the anti-terrorist organisation Hatamoto to consult with the FFA. The article reports Kevin Muscat as saying that matches have to become "more family friendly". With all due respect to Muscat, attendance records at Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory & the Wanderers, not to mention the simple act of seeing who turns up to A-League matches, proves that the A-League is perfectly family friendly right now. Additionally, the last line of the article states that up to 50,000 people are expected to watch the Melbourne Derby. I highly doubt that a crowd of 50,000 could be in sight without families feeling safe enough to watch the match.

 

I am sick to death of being treated like a criminal when I go to an A-League match. I am sick to death of idiots at the FFA who want to turn the RBB into an AFL cheer squad. I am sick to death of football and it's supporters being demonised by the media, only to watch the sycophants at the FFA crawl up to the media on all fours and kiss arse, sucking up to media organisations who are officially linked with the AFL & NRL, instead of telling the truth, which is that these minor problems in the A-League pale in comparison to the problems the AFL, NRL & Cricket have with violence and anti-social behaviour and that the FFA will not allow the media and police to hold active support hostage. I do not like having to stand next to a jittery officer with his hand on his gun at a football match, like what happened at Penrith. I am tired of seeing the FFA & the clubs try to destroy active support in the mistaken impression that it is somehow 'holding the sport back' or in the belief there is a major problem with 'hooliganism' in active support.

 

As a person who has attended all matches involving the Wanderers in New South Wales since inception, including all pre-season matches, as well as several interstate matches, I should have witnessed this immense hooliganism, and crowd violence first hand? Yet I have not. I have not seen a single example of violence. Except for one. It was at Campbelltown Stadium last season, where the police threw an old man face first onto the asphalt for a crime that was not apparent to anyone waiting in line. He sat there bleeding from his face while his wife cried by his side.

 

Last season the RBB was recognised as playing a huge part in the growth of the Western Sydney Wanderers, so why do those running the FFA refuse to accept that our sport can only grow bigger the more they allow active support to grow. Why is it that places like Germany can generate

levels of active support in stadiums far bigger than most A-League grounds, without having to create onerous entry conditions and oppressive levels of police activity? Have the FFA requested the Police give them the hard numbers on incidents in the A-League, NRL, AFL & Cricket to prove one way or the other if there really is a problem in the A-League? Or are they simply accepting of Police 'gut feelings' and agree to crackdowns like these with no evidence? Do the FFA simply not want to bother trying to embrace active support? Is it all too hard for them? Instead of wasting money on Hatamoto, maybe spend some money on a plane trip to the Westfalenstadion.

 

The FFA's latest marking gimmick is to say that supporters "Power The Game".

 

It's up to the FFA to ensure that this power isn't suffocated, or switched off at the source by those who seek to destroy football. If Damien de Bohun or David Gallop can't do that, they should step down and allow people who aren't willing to let our sport remain demonised and attacked by the police and media to take over.

 

Make no mistake fellow Wanderers, we are next.

 

If the FFA attempt to introduce these ridiculous conditions onto the RBB they can have my membership back until they realise what a mistake they have made.

 

Football without fans is nothing.

 

Click here to view the article

[mushi]

Great piece. Also near police i usually have my camera ready and by my side. Near games/marches. 

They cannot force you to delete any footage. 

[matty]

well said mack

 

I encourage Wanderers fans of NON active areas to tell of your opinion of the RBB here. I have a couple of questions for Lyall Gorman.

[mrcovers]

like i said in a previous post - if we loose our active support ill give up my membership.... 10% of me watches the game 90% watches the rbb singing

[ChrisMoore]

Much respect from Melbourne for this. It is heartening to know that even when it looks like the Northern Terrace is under the biggest threat it has faced, we have allies like Mack and the RBB in this fight who actually have the ability to spread the word of the Hypocrisy and Lies coming from the authorities, media and FFA regarding active support. Fighting the FFA and the club admin is hard enough without having to take on the AFL puppet media which rules EVERYTHING in Melbourne. We thought we were over this crap after Ben Buckley finally got canned and the police got told to back the f*** off in 2010 but alas we're back to fighting everyone in a suit again.

 

At least you guys will stand up for what is right rather than just dropping your trousers and bending over for the FFA like The Cove. Remember that this news obviously directly affects you because make no mistake, Hatamoto and the FFA WILL come after you next and gut your core members with bans like they did to us. I just hope you guys never have to go to the extents of boycotting games like we did 3 years ago because we only just recovered from that last season.

 

Ultras Liberi

[West13]

One of your best ever Mack.

I dont sit in RBB however If the FFA continue lube up for the media and rival sporting organisations to impose draconian measures to kill active support in the league i too will hand back the memberships of myself and family. I love the Wanderers but for me the Wanderers are a mix of the football and the atmosphere that our fans generate, led by the RBB. Take that away and i'll stick to foxtel.

It saddens me to see whats happening at the Victory, and I'll admit pre wsw days i used to watch in awe at the atmosphere their supporters generated and smile in the knowledge that Australian sport had finally had an opportunity to feel what real sporting atmosphere was. The RBB topped that off and provided so much goodwill and positive publicity for FFA that the powers at FFA should be bending over backward to accommodate.

I'm in shock reading this today and now like the rest of us know doubt i wait nervously to see what dribble De Bohun comes up with next. To him i say **** off and be replaced by an overseas expert who will defend and grow the fans, not suffocate them with your bullshit.

 

Chris Moore - keep fighting the good fight brother. We at WSW feel for you and have your backs (even though you are #2 )

 

As for Muscat... Football became family friendly when that grub retired and people didnt have to watch him plany and wonder if their kids would get snapped in half when they grew up.

[westofcentre]

Well said Mack.

 

Dirty games here. Money is power. We could well our souls to the IMF/World Bank.

 

why in my area do we have 32 football teams and only one part time AFL team yet whave to share football fields with the AFL. Why does my local school have AFL goal posts on no football goals.

 

Need to unite. I was speaking with one politician a few years back. He gave me a specific example (we were speaking about a particular subject) but said politicians will more readily do things to particular groups whom they know are not united or have strength.

 

They know we will yell and scream but do very little unless we unite.

[lloydy136]

its one thing to have this sort of stuff led by biased media and ignorant police who don't understand football and seek to damage it. its a whole different situation when its your own federation and club doing this and stooges like muscat giving quotes to a story. then they have the nerve to run an ad campaign championing active support as the key selling point of the comp (which it is).

 

as much as gallop has done a good job in other areas it does make you think we would be better off with administrators being football people - even if we have to import them like we do with coaches and technical staff.

 

great article mack - using evidence to back up claims putting actual paid journos to shame.

[West13]

Putting it out there now as a last resort if **** seriously hits the fan...

 

Full boycott of a round of football.

 

No silent protest, no food and bev... Nobody turn up. Go to Roxy or Woolie and watch.

 

Will it hurt the team? Possibly.. but its 'FFAs' team and if they are trying to sell it they certainly cant have an empty stadium.

 

Will it look like AFL have won.. yes and no. If FFA grow nuts and realise fans really do power the game they will quickly go into damage control. No rent a crowds with freebies when 75% of stadiums are member ticketed.

 

Out there idea and definitely not for now, but worth keeping in back pocket i think.

[Ian]

FFA don't care about fans, if they did they wouldn't hire Hatamoto to profile active supporters.

I know of a few people who are confirmed to have Hatamoto files, none of them have done anything criminal, violent or anti-social, and all of them are there for the football, they have simply put their hand up to do hard work for RBB and WSW fans but Hatamoto is still building profiles on them. Hatamoto is blatantly targetting the leadership of active support. Why is this acceptable to the FFA?

If I go to an AFL match and wave a pom-pom I don't have to worry about some wannabe blackwater/pinkertons compiling a dossier. What makes it ok for this to happen at an A-league match? We live in a society with laws where it is already illegal to be violent, its already illegal to light flares, why does the FFA believe they need an extra-legal system with an opaque and secretive body to police this?

Why is it acceptable for Hatamoto to issue a ban delivered with Police to an RBB members workplace? He lost his job 6 months after the game for entering the field after a W-League match. There are approximately 12 similar bans for the W-league match (no one was banned for flares at W-league match, only going onto the field to celebrate with the girls) but all we hear about is how the bans are for anti-social behaviour when WSW fans brought the best atmosphere the W-league had ever seen. De Bohun the **** stated publically these bans would be looked into, and I've had email exchanges arranging meetings with him to discuss this issue where he says he will meet but then backs out, he's scared that if he overturns those 12 bans the line they are pushing about anti-social elements will be null and void. De Bohun is the reason the A-league is still a bush league, and the fact he can't even ensure the ******* stadium is booked for MV vs WSW should have cost him his job.

PS. I know for a fact WSW have a precondition on all pre-season venues (Gabbie Stadium, Jensen, Campelltown) that several tickets are reserved for Hatamoto to get free entry. WSW is promoting the atmosphere and the fans on one hand and inviting Hatamoto along to turn the RBB into an AFL cheer squad.

[Wanderer74]

Even just simple things that they should notice like the seats being full at the north end and fans scattered at the south end( I mean in the grandstand). People want to be near the RBB and it is something that these people who have light connections to football in the west have never seen before.

 

No matter what there will always be one d1ckhead and if the police and hatamoto want to focus on this one idiot and bring the whole force over they can do that, but people will one day focus and not see it as bad as this compared to other codes. They will not break the RBB because you guys are too good for that and this team needs you. I can't imagine it and it won't happen.

[MCHammer]

Makes me sick. 

 

A key point that Mack brings up though is FFA's interest in Terrace Australis. If those involved tell the FFA to stick their socceroos active support up their ass, could this possibly open positive talks regarding A-League active support? 

[Ian]

Makes me sick. 

 

A key point that Mack brings up though is FFA's interest in Terrace Australis. If those involved tell the FFA to stick their socceroos active support up their ass, could this possibly open positive talks regarding A-League active support? 

That could happen soon.

[pys]

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/clubs-need-to-master-rules-of-engagement-with-fans-20131005-2v0xs.html

 

articl by foster today showing the importance of fan treatment

Edited October 6, 2013 by pys

[West13]

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/9066/Policy_-_User_Charges_-_Final.pdf

 

articl by foster today showing the importance of fan treatment

Wrong link Pys.

 

Someone should email Fozzy Mack's notes...

[pys]

sorry that was from my user pays rant. http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/clubs-need-to-master-rules-of-engagement-with-fans-20131005-2v0xs.html

[Sobkowski]

Great piece. Also near police i usually have my camera ready and by my side. Near games/marches.

 

They cannot force you to delete any footage.

That's a really good idea

[westofcentre]

If I go to an AFL match and wave a pom-pom I don't have to worry about some wannabe blackwater/pinkertons compiling a dossier. What makes it ok for this to happen at an A-league match?

Wait wait. You wave pom poms at an AFL match?

 

All seriousness the treatment of fans after the W-League match makes me sick.

 

Boycotting active support for the national team would send a clear strong message to the FFA especially with the upcoming Asian Cup.

 

Though I dont know is that simple.

Edited October 6, 2013 by westofcentre

[GunnerWanderer]

Yeah another nail in the coffin and it's really developing into us and against them mentality from the FFA which isn't positive for the future.

 

I agree with one point though the sniffer dogs for flares. (know we aren't supposed to mention it Mack but it's a point in the article) Everything else they have tried is ineffective and Wanderer fans have been the worst offenders so I'm sure you will see that at Parramatta for game one.

 

For the hero's who still think it's cool to rip a flare I suspect their days are numbered. 

[Ian]

Yeah another nail in the coffin and it's really developing into us and against them mentality from the FFA which isn't positive for the future.

 

I agree with one point though the sniffer dogs for flares. (know we aren't supposed to mention it Mack but it's a point in the article) Everything else they have tried is ineffective and Wanderer fans have been the worst offenders so I'm sure you will see that at Parramatta for game one.

 

For the hero's who still think it's cool to rip a flare I suspect their days are numbered. 

Doubt it mate, its more widespread than ever.

[Torcida]

**** ffa

[Pistola]

Amazing Mack. Thanks for taking the time to write up a response of such calibre.

[AEK]

This is disgusting, what do they want? To go back to having empty stadiums?

[echidna]

I think everybody needs to take a deep breath... and Mack I hope you got some sleep, as you posted around 4.32am.

 

The Herald-Sun has a tradition of being 'anti-football' and police and security, just like any other individual in our society have their own private sporting passions and biases. The AFL has clearly had significant persuasive interest when dealing with government and organisations of all kinds - police included.

 

Could there be a conspiracy between the AFL and police to undermine active support in the A-League? Possibly, but we have to get our own act together first.

 

As far as filming is concerned, it has been going on for years - police had cameras on Sydney United fans at the 1997 Grand Final in Brisbane (versus Brisbane Strikers), where a number were evicted.

 

We should welcome cameras, for our own protection, and for the prosecution of those who place their own narcissism ahead of the best interests of the game, in lighting and/or throwing flares.

 

If such behaviour (and of course any physical violence) is universally condemned and the perpetrators identified and excluded, then we should have little cause for concern.

 

Are Gallop and de Bohun so naive as to threaten the momentum of what has been developed at WSW? I believe not. However, they have a responsibility to ensure that football is a safe, positive and welcoming environment for all.

 

WSW is bigger than any individual and bigger than the RBB. Its power and attraction derives from the fact that it has been able to expand the colour and an increasing degree of the support provided by the RBB beyond the North Terrace and amongst family groups and all ages. Long may it continue to do so.

[ATP]

Amazing Mack. Thanks for taking the time to write up a response of such calibre.

 

+ 1 Cheers Mack

[SHUUUU]

 

Amazing Mack. Thanks for taking the time to write up a response of such calibre.

 

+ 1 Cheers Mack

 

+2 cheers mack

[rolande1990]

Mate I totally agree, great piece!!! Absolute joke from the Police, my mate is in the NT & he is devastated they've ruined it.

[Llama]

 

fantastic post.

Edited October 6, 2013 by Llama

[mltezr]

your best article yet. well done

[AEK]

I just thought of something, this is from my point of view of what I can and cannot see from where I stand in the RBB, only problem i see is the flares, if we can stop them, we really don't have anything to worry about, flares are our big problem.

 

Is there something I am missing that I can't see durin the games?