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Most sports fans who have experienced the passion, noise and unity of Western Sydney Wanderers supporters will doubtless have been impressed.
Whether in Pirtek Stadium, in the streets of Parramatta or during away days, the atmosphere created has given Australian sport something to be proud of.
Western Sydney boast a truly multicultural fan-base, one which basically formed overnight, and brought colour and excitement back into football. Their spirit and fervour has filtered into other supporter bases across the A-League, and has become a fantastic success story alongside the on-field exploits.
Euro snobs have revelled in the replication of European atmospheres, old NSL fans have returned to watch top tier football, and even hardened NRL and AFL fans – the latter well versed in putting on a good show – can not deny that the spectacle is entertaining.
Which makes recent police demands on the club’s supporter group the Red and Black Bloc both concerning and puzzling.
Last week, Fairfax Media‘s Daniel Lane revealed Parramatta LAC’s list of restrictions they wished to impose on the RBB.
They included prohibiting the march through Parramatta to Pirtek Stadium, a zero tolerance on swearing, and banning provocative banners and flares.
The most draconian measure, however, requires support to remain in their seats, and refrain from “stand[ing] shoulder-to-shoulder and jump[ing] and clap[ping] their hands above their heads”.
This is simply overkill, and threatens to ruin a good thing.
Crowd safety should be the sole concern of police, and the only safety issue highlighted in the demands is the use of flares. Jumping is not dangerous, nor is clapping. Marching certainly is not a concern, unless we’re now living in a fascist state opposed to large gatherings. And swearing is not about to endanger a life, which is one of the most ridiculous demands.
Go to any sporting match and you will be bombarded with swearing. It’s not ideal for the kids attending matches, but they do not learn swear words from attending the footy. Parents can be naive, and go to any school – public or private – and you will hear all the choice words and more.
Kids are exposed to swearing whether at school, a sporting event or at a family friend’s barbecue. If you ban one supporter group or code from using expletives, ban them all, and good luck.
Australia and swearing goes hand in hand, we call our mates the most distasteful words as a form of endearment. There is no nation that swears more, from experience. The police need to get real.
Provocative banners? As long as they’re not racist, sexist or discriminatory in any way, let it be.
Obviously the police are not happy about criminal elements creeping into the RBB, but these measures will not solve the problem. Working together with both club and support base and gaining mutual trust and respect is a far more sensible approach.
The RBB is not faultless, and neither is the club. Unfortunately they have failed to eliminate idiotic behaviour, even though it is stemming from a minority. There has been a consistent use of flares, something the general Australian has vehemently condemned.
Head to a match across any tier of German football and you will see widespread use of flares at games, and experience the spine-tingling atmosphere they help create. Police are not enamoured with their use, but they are also not using batons and pepper spray to put an end to the spectacle.
However, flares have been widely rejected by Australian culture, mainly on the grounds of safety, and the RBB have to accept that. Flares are illegal at games and the club and the RBB have a responsibility to stamp it out.
Introducing measures alongside the prohibition of the flares, though, is a ridiculous attempt to kill a banging atmosphere.
Every social group has misfits, that dickhead element consisting of one or two people who take things too far. Police and the RBB should be discussing more effective measures to identify and outcast.
The problem, however, is the perception that passionate support in football equals hooliganism. There has been a marked improvement in detractors determining the difference between the two, yet the police, based on these demands, are still lagging behind.
When a man assaults a woman in an AFL finals series, it’s labelled an isolated incident. Similarly, when brawls break out during junior rugby league junior matches, the word hooliganism is conspicuously absent.
Flare at the soccer? Evidence of the evil, disgusting European hooligan element creeping into our idyllic Australian lifestyle. The same lifestyle where king hits are common place, and alcohol-fuelled violence is out of control compared to most European countries where flares are weekly occurrences on sporting grounds.
If the police want to impose such measures on the RBB then they have to extend it to every A-League club, and every other sporting code. Stand up and spray foul-mouthed abuse at the referee during the footy? Ejected, along with 80 per cent of the crowd.
Thankfully, Western Sydney Wanderers are standing strong with their supporters, sending out a clear dismissal of the Parramatta LAC’s demands.
“While the club will never tolerate flares or any form of anti-social behaviour, the club has opposed the severity of the proposals and what we believe is excessive and we feel compromises the enjoyable football experience,” a statement said.
A heavy approach, which blankets all fans as criminals, is not, and will never be, the answer.
Police must work with the club, work with the RBB, in order to identify the minority and ban them from matches. Yet showing their draconian ideals in demanding ridiculous measures is not going to help foster a healthy relationship. It has already done more harm than good.
Australia needs more supporter groups like the RBB. We know AFL atmospheres are incredible, but NRL fans could learn a thing or two about galvanised support. Similarly, the RBB could eventually help create an atmosphere at Socceroos games, which is amateur compared to what the national team experienced in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan recently.
Australia must celebrate and embrace passionate support groups, not aim to drive them away.
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