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Flares provide unnecessary ammunition for detractors

23rd November, 2015
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The A-League occasionally has fan violence problems. (AAP Image/James Elsby)
Expert
23rd November, 2015
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Off-field headlines have dominated this A-League season with increased frequency, more so than in the past few years, and Round 7 was no different.

The Daily Telegraph emblazoned its Saturday front page with a report on banned A-League spectators, daringly publishing the photographs and names of the culprits. An online gallery featured 151 of the 198.

Without delving deep into the morality issues surrounding publishing such an article, which is highly questionable, the report was yet another cheap shot at dragging football’s image through the mud.

The piece described the secret document as a “shame file” and even claimed some stadiums were moving to ban the Sydney Derby, without providing any evidence.

It also featured some concerning clickbait quotes from police commissioner Andrew Scipione.

“The last thing we want to get to in Australia is putting rival fans in cages like the UK model,” he said.

If commissioner Scipione believes UK supporters are kept in cages, it is possible he has been reading news reports from the 1980s.

Attempting to understand how authorities have tackled crowd troubles in Europe would help Australian police. Conversing with police and governing bodies in Germany, say, where they oversee a very tight ship when it comes to stadium security, would be a decent idea.

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“There is a bloody-­mindedness ­within some of the clubs and the FFA that does not accept – responsibility for the culture. It is their ­responsibility to mend that,” assistant commissioner Kyle Stewart added.

“The diatribe about us being the fun police comes from those who have an exceedingly huge level of ignorance about the role we play.”

Ignorance is definitely contributing to the problem here, and it is not just one-sided.

A graphic may have been published in The Telegraph‘s print edition, though there was not one to be seen online, which is often the case when presenting statistical data.

From the 151 photographs published in the online gallery, here are the numbers:

Flare ignition or possession = 47
Violence = 38
Not listed = 35
Disorderly, obstruct investigation, affray, foul language etc. = 19
Enter field of play = 12

Thirty-eight spectators banned for violence over a three-year period is definitely not a good look, but is it really worse than other codes in Australia? Police have the statistics, if they release them in comparison with other sports it would at least back up their case against football and the “grubby pack animals”.

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The police are there for sports fans’ safety, and there are no doubts officers are continually placed in stressful and unsavoury positions every day. This is not an attack on them. Yet communication from the hierarchy is full of rhetoric, and it does not help solve anything.

What stands out most from the statistics above is the percentage of fans banned for either possessing or using a flare. Take away the visual of coloured smoke filling streets and stadiums during game days, and take away the number of spectators banned for using the devices, and it is difficult for The Telegraph to write a story. No juicy pics, no juicy stats.

If you take away the 35 offences that where not labelled in the online gallery, flares account for 40 per cent of the sanctions, while violence lags behind on 33 per cent.

It is clear their use provides the fuel needed for the police and media to chastise football’s culture in Australia.

Having previously taken a stance of indifference on the use of pyro in Australian stadiums, if anything this report has swayed my opinion.

I quite enjoy seeing sparked flares in the German third division or in a neighbouring eastern European country. It is not neanderthal, it just gives the atmosphere a little buzz.

Watching 2. Bundesliga’s Union Berlin produce an old boys team to play a similarly aged BSG Chemie Leipzig side in protest against RB Leipzig earlier this year was a damn good time.

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More than 4000 fans attended the overage, friendly game, and the atmosphere increased tenfold when both sets of fans let off a bunch of red and green flares. The ground was covered in smoke momentarily, and it was a ripping experience.

That said, it has become quite clear that flares are not wanted Down Under, and the murmurs of discontent are no longer consigned to mainstream media and police. Fans are getting increasingly fed up, too.

When your own fans are sick and tired of their use, what is the point? It becomes an unnecessary divisive subject between fans, not just between fans and authorities. That is when it becomes a detriment to creating a buzzing atmosphere. The fans must be united.

Why should Australian football fans continue to feed the trolls? Get rid of the flares that disgust, threaten and scare those who want to bring football down, and you’re limiting their ability to incite fear.

If you want to see some flares ripped, head to an environment where it’s widely accepted. At the moment they are not aiding the growth of football in Australia. All it achieves is unwanted attention from police and sensational journalists.

It is time to create a unique fan culture, building on what already exists sans flares.

The Telegraph was out of order publishing the names and photographs of those banned from Australian football matches, however without flares the story would not have been possible, or had the same effect.

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I’m happy to say I’ve changed my mind on the topic. I’ll still enjoy flares when visiting an obscure match in Europe, and it will be great, but seeing such a petty issue split Australian football fans is worrying.

It appears the only answer is to just accept that there is no place for flares in Australian football.

It is not a death knell to banging atmospheres, and it will not ruin the experience already prevalent in some A-League matches. But it may the olive branch which gets police onside and cuts off the ammunition supply for football detractors in the media.

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