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Wanderers guilty: Fined $50,000 and docked three competition points

11th February, 2016
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David Gallop and FFA might now want South Melbourne in the comp. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)
11th February, 2016
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The Western Sydney Wanderers have been found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute by Football Federation Australia, copping a fine of $50,000 and given a suspended three competition point-deduction.

The fine and deduction come after Saturday night’s game between the Melbourne Victory and the Western Sydney Wanderers, where flared and detonators were ignited in the Wanderers’ away section at Etihad Stadium.

Football Federation CEO David Gallop made the announcement at a press conference on Thursday afternoon, saying while he was disappointed with the way fans behaved at the game, he remained convinced that these people were trouble makers, not true football fans.

More football:
» Wanderers still top dogs, but mischief makers must pull their heads in
» FFA must dock the Wanderers competition points
» FFA talking tough could be rough for Wanderers
» Fan issues escalate: FFA charge Wanderers with bringing game into disrepute
» It’s time for A-League supporters to unite against flares
» A-League fans have shot themselves in the foot

“It saddens me the game and good football people have had their reputations damaged,” Gallop said.

“The actions on Saturday night were deplorable. There’s more than anecdotal evidence that families left before full time.

“Next week we will announce a national flare review.

“Those who lit the flares are not true football fans.

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“These are very serious ramifications to the competition. Three points could make a huge difference in the race for the A-League championship.”

Gallop said that it would be “very sad indeed to see a club lose points because of the action of these people”, but that if another serious incident occurred in the fan section of the Wanderers, the FFA would sanction the club with a loss of three points.

At this stage, the Wanderers’ points on the A-League table remains the same.

“The misconduct was not only dangerous and threatening but the coordinated and calculated way the fans behaved was a serious blight on the reputation of football and everyone involved in our game including clubs, members, fans, players and officials,” Gallop said.

“The sanctions have been set taking into consideration the seriousness of the incidents but a clear commitment both publicly and through its submission that the Wanderers will take responsibility for implementing a clear strategy to identify and exclude these individuals.

“The Western Sydney Wanderers and the vast majority of Wanderers fans have expressed their disdain at the behaviour of the perpetrators on Saturday night and must now work together to rid their club of these troublemakers who threaten the huge support the club has brought to the competition. While the club has put a number of measures in place it goes without saying that more needs to be done.

“The timing of the incident was frustrating for everyone who has been working collectively on a new banning process to deal with the type of behaviour that was on show last Saturday night.”

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Gallop said the setback would not affect the findings of the FFA’s review into the banning process. He also said they would announce more updates on flares next week.

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