The salacious scoop had many a bogan and boofhead wailing and gnashing their teeth across News Limited websites, with imagery abounding of the foreign round-ball game descending upon our shores to destroy Australian culture and our cherished way of life.
If ever proof was needed of Australia’s insular island mentality, it can always be found in the hysteria which surrounds football supporters and their choice of sport, and trotting out the tired old “football fans are violent” line is a sure-fire way to shift newspapers and guarantee website hits on a lazy old Friday morning.
I don’t doubt Superintendent Rod Wilson’s claims that certain folk demonstrate “violent tendencies” and display a “poor attitude towards police” in Melbourne.
That’s because any time I walk down the street on a Friday or Saturday night in the so-called sporting capital of Australia, I’m usually in fear for my life.
If Supt Wilson thinks Melbourne can be a violent place, he’s right, because the city has struggled to contain anti-social elements for years.
But those anti-social elements aren’t exclusively football fans, and suggestions that A-League games are any more violent than their AFL or NRL counterparts are anecdotal at best.
Yet the problem for Football Federation Australia – who rebuked the sensational Herald Sun’s front page headline, albeit belatedly – are stories like the one journalist Paul Tatnell published earlier in the week.
Tatnell was attacked on his way out of the Melbourne derby at Etihad Stadium by a person police believe was a 16-year-old Melbourne Heart supporter.
That the alleged perpetrator is supposedly a Heart fan is not the most relevant factor, because in my opinion we don’t have a problem with A-League supporters, we have a problem with society.
If sport is a mirror of society, then it’s no surprise to see a minority of hoodlums running around and ruining things for everyone else.
Unfortunately for the A-League it only takes one gutless teenager to land a single punch and generate a negative front page headline at the same time.
But the Victorian police are wrong if they think that kind of incident means all football fans deserve to be tarnished with the same brush, when like any strata of society, the overwhelming majority of A-League fans are law-abiding citizens.
What the A-League does need to do, however, is rid itself of the persistent minority who insist on lighting flares and intimidating away fans as though it’s a bona fide component of the matchday experience.
Every time a fan lights a flare, or threatens a police officer or throws a punch at a random stranger on the footbridge outside Etihad Stadium, it gives newspapers like The Herald Sun licence to run stories about “violent football fans.”
And it justifies the use of outside security consultants like Hatamoto in the eyes of the FFA.
I wouldn’t just like to see these boneheads tossed out of A-League stadia, I’d like to see them eradicated from society altogether.
But until we address some serious social issues in this complex land of ours, it’s wrong and unfair to tarnish A-League fans as trouble-makers when it’s only a small minority causing problems.
After all, most of us are just as sick and tired of violent cretins at football games as the sub-editors at The Herald Sun.
RCC Jones
Guest
A.C.A.B or 1 3 1 2 stands for All Cops Are Bastards
Twatter
Guest
Control the media you control the public opinion, not so in this case. In watching Offsiders a fairly independant sports programme on Sunday morning their panel could see the beat up and smoke and mirrors to this story none of it was making sense Violent Football Hooligans was the article, Barry Cassidy suggeted A.F.L. gets the nastiest crowds (i dont know i don't go) though figures produced showed more people being arrested at the cricket, as Gerard Whateley suggested after 9.30 pm at the cricket it turns into a zoo, though the sport is socially accepted by one and all. The Rugby guy on the panel hit the nail on the head in relation to the A League (victory) Quote, the dominant culture is very good at protecting it's dominance in relation to vested commercial interest's does anybody now a dominant sport in Victoria. What's concerned me is the police have asked not to attend A League fixtures through feeling intimidated, what are they going to say or do if a bank robber(obviously) robs a bank and takes hostages are they going to turn around to their superior and say can i go home now it's getting quite intimidating, or heaven forbid some form of terrorist attack. Social issues are important i tend not to think so much of my young children driving in a car at the age of 18, but am more concerned they will potentially be killed or kill in a drunken night out in the city. Footnote degrade a sport publicly you potentialy drive sponsors and supporters away clever isn't it.
True Tah
Guest
its not really a problem in Sydney, Sydney FC dont really draw big enough crowds to cause any problems
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
VicPol confirms what most Melburnians observe each week-end. Crime in Victoria has continued to drop in the past 12 months, but assaults in Melbourne’s CBD are up almost four per cent. Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones said: ‘We will continue to assertively enforce the law against those who come to the city to misbehave." http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/crime-down-but-city-violence-rises-20110223-1b4le.html
funktapuss
Guest
Amusingly, and most people would acknowledge it, Melbourne is not even the most 'liveable' town in Victoria. As for Sydney. Where is LA in the list. It is beneath that in any sane person's eyes. It is just a big Blade Runner style city without the Hollywood, porn industry, industry and any culture whatsoever. The biggest irony about Sin City is they built Australia's most iconic cultural landmark, the Opera House, in Australia's least cultured town. London has Big Ben, Paris the Eifell Town, Sydney should just have a big knob.
Rob McLean
Guest
Dingo, I have seen people burnt by flares thrown into a crowd. Sadly it was by supporters of my own football club.
Rob McLean
Guest
Pinochet's nothing on Bloody Jeff Kennett ;)
Dingo
Guest
This may be slightly off topic and almost irrelevant, but has anyone heard of anyone actually being injured by flares in Australia or anywhere else? I don't it's happened but it would be nice to know if there is actually much danger associated with flares. Never having been up close to one I can't really know.
Nathan
Guest
The cops are polishing their batons in anticipation, no doubt :)
Art Sapphire
Guest
Rob - reports from Victoria say Ted Baillieu, not Pinochet, has taken over the running of the nanny state. This might not please some people, but a police state is still a fair way off ;)
con
Guest
in comparison to sydney: its safer, more affordable, easier transportation, comparable nightlife, very multicultural etc etc plus its safe in general
Tifosi
Guest
With all the trouble that resides in Melbourne, How does it get ranked as the second most liveable city in the world???? http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/melbourne-almost-best-in-the-world/story-e6frf7kx-1226009073384
Axelv
Guest
con, hatamoto is watching! :D
Rob McLean
Guest
DB, you concede it's a tabloid paper with tabloid reporting. Wouldn't it be a tabloid act to target something the tabloid doesn't like on the day that the finals start? It seems plausible.
Rob McLean
Guest
AS, if you believe the reports coming from the Victoryans, it's heading that way ;)
Axelv
Guest
Ben, I have heard of issues with stadium security in Brisbane, Townsville and Newcastle. Some fans from Sydney, Adelaide and Perth have also been in support of the Melbourne fans in this issue. While I can't speak for other cities, After being to 9 Victory games this season, and 20 others over the years, I can promise you that our fans are not violent, and certainly not more violent than other codes. I have also witnessed first hand with my eyes on countless occasions of fans being bullied by security. Getting in the faces of supporters only escalates violence rather than preventing it. I recommend you watch last night's TWG program if you want to learn more on the issue. http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/video/406442/The-World-Game---21st-February
midfield general
Guest
David I'm not sure it's that complicated. Young lads needing to belong+beer+football = antisocial behaviour. I'm in my 40's but nothing much has changed since my days. I always thought A league games were fairly benign compared to racist abuse often heard at cricket and AFL.
Evan Askew
Guest
Its an opinion piece. THat is opinion. He is entitled to tell it. God knows we football fans are well aquainted with the views on association football of Ausie rules luminaries such as Jason Akermanis, Sam Newman, Mike SHields and Peter Goers.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
I'm sure there are a number of issues, the question remains though are football fans treated any differently across Australia as a whole? I know that some of the security guys at Hindmarsh have commented how they enjoy the A-League games more than a number of other events because of the atmosphere and the fact they don't have a lot of problems. Sometimes as football fans we are also guilty of tarring everyone with the same brush. The Victoria police have made an unfortunate statement that may well have been taken out of context, however this doesn't mean that the rest of the police forces in Australia should be considered to have the same opinion. It's a bit rough on the WA police to make them accountable for opinions in Victoria. Human nature I guess.
DB
Guest
"...was nothing more than a media beat-up" that's a fair assumption to make. has all the hall-marks of a beat-up " designed to take attention away from the A-League finals" oh dear, that's just embarrassing. could you soccer guys please stop with the conspiracy theories. Is the Nixon debacle designed to take away from the NAB cup? It's a tabloid paper with tabloid reporting. Just like the roar is with this article