The sight of police wading into fans at Edensor Park on Tuesday night was as predictable as this column. Yet the question must be asked – who is policing the police at football games?
If I was a mole operating deep within Football Federation Australia to create internal divisions around the game, I would schedule a friendly between an A-League club and a former National Soccer League club.
That way, eight years of brooding anger at seeing their club relegated to second-tier status would be all it took for one rogue fan to make a statement and create negative headlines across Australia by disrupting the match.
Sadly, scheduling a night-time friendly between Sydney United and Western Sydney Wanderers at Edensor Park is simply begging for trouble.
Even if the United fans are nothing more than boisterous, their actions will be monitored not only by mainstream media sniffing a juicy story, but also by certain members of the police force who act as if the average football fan just stepped off a Viking longship in preparation for the next pillage.
What is it about the police and football in Australia?
I might be the most innocuous looking human on the planet but step inside a football ground as a ticket-holder and suddenly I feel as if I’m on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
The menacing gaze, the sneering contempt, the pack mentality and constant need to be a visible presence – I’ve seen it all when it comes to policing at football games and I must say it’s not a pretty sight.
According to several eye witnesses at Edensor Park on Thursday night, a lone spectator set off a firecracker, prompting a number of police to swarm United’s home end.
With police struggling to physically get to the offender, by most accounts officers simply pepper-sprayed the fans around him and then lashed out at anyone else who happened to be standing in the way.
Now – I wasn’t there, and I’m not trying to deliberately paint an unflattering account of the police.
But I have been to enough games to know that for some reason it’s deemed acceptable for many law enforcement officials to treat football fans as aliens who deserve to be wiped from the face of the planet.
I don’t know what it is about the round-ball game that riles security forces so much, but time and again I have felt threatened by the presence of security guards and police at football games.
In fact, I once wrote about a grim encounter with Suncorp Stadium’s ever-zealous security brigade and have had similar experiences on the Gold Coast and in Melbourne since.
I fully applaud FFA’s decision to hand down five-year bans to those involved in crowd disturbances over the past few weeks because I don’t want these kinds of so-called supporters ruining the match-day experience for everyone else.
But by the same token I have to wonder why it is these types of crowd disturbances become front-page material when we all know anti-social behaviour occurs at every other sporting event in the country.
“Eleven arrested and forty five evicted! Police officer assaulted! Thirteen people banned from the stadium for six months! Insane, they need to crack down and question what is happening in this code. Absolute disgrace. Oops, sorry, that was the arrest figures for State of Origin II last year.”
So goes the popular meme doing the rounds on Facebook yesterday courtesy of the Sydney United Supporters page.
It’s hard not to feel a bit sorry for genuine United supporters but surely FFA will think long and hard about how pre-season fixtures are scheduled in the future.
And in all the media coverage surrounding this latest crowd disturbance, one question remains unasked.
Who is policing the police?
amband
Guest
exactly. They should deport these thugs back to where they came from or descended from, Oz citizen or not!
amband
Guest
don't be silly
amband
Guest
exactly
amband
Guest
no the police have a duty to chase the bloke. The bloke they were chasing started it
amband
Guest
it is an ethnic problem in football
amband
Guest
how can they inflame the situation?
amband
Guest
especially where unity via ethnicity is concerned. Cops are up against that. Not easy
phutbol
Guest
But none of the stories suggested that there was and endemic problem of child assaults in AFL that needed to be stamped out did they?
Bondy.
Guest
Happy Hooker. The real and true football supporters dont care what you think.
Happy Hooker
Guest
Self-employed in fact. And I can spell too.
Happy Hooker
Guest
So Mike Tuckerman is not a journo with an agenda? Agree, it is a minuscule percentage of attendees at matches that cuase problems, and fair minded observers acknowledge that. But by blaming the police for causing the problems, he is effectively endorsing the behaviour of a "miniscule amount of idiots". I still maintain that doing so does a disservice to the true soccer fans.
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party
Guest
Yeah well its about time the Football fans in this country are given some credit instead of being vilified because of the actions of a miniscule amount of idiots.The A-League supporters are great and the tens of thousands of fans who've supported our National side abroad in World Cups and Asian Cups have never disgraced our Nation once.Yet something like this happens once in a blue moon and fans of other codes or journo's with agendas just can't help but big note themselves,does my head in.
whiskeymac
Guest
Comparing lawyers training to cops. Interesting. .. After 33 weeks am sure theres still training to be had. There is in NSW - the qualification is through CSU and the course runs for about 18 months all up. Comparing your lawyer after 5 years or so they come out pretty green; just as the cop does after 33 weeks. But if they started their studies together once the lawyer gets his piece of paper to be admitted our cop has his training plus 4-5 years real experience. What is more useful when in an emergency or a situation/ incident which requires an active response, not a written submission (regardless as to how well written)? .. Realistically could a state government afford to train a cop for 5 years first? Would a cop go through the training to come out and have people spit on them, abuse them and the like for $60K a year... and still no doubt attract criticism regardless? .. Ultimately though call your lawyer when theres a home invasion or another type of emergency then. Maybe a well drafted Letter of Demand to cease and desist will remedy the violence of the tort and criminal act for you. I personally would love to see Lawyers keeping the peace in stadiums. Along with Accountants and Journalists.
Bondy.
Guest
Thank you for policing the precint Cattery.
The Cattery
Guest
The police threatened you with arrest merely because you pointed out that they were obstructing your view? Did you say sir and pretty please?
Bondy.
Guest
Happy Hooker. Ganefully employed are you ?. Perhaps you could go back to hooking ?.
Bondy.
Guest
You've tried exporting that thing and you've failed whats your next option ?.
Happy Hooker
Guest
If I don't hear anything, that will be a good result for soccer. I wouldn't have posted but for the ludicrous suggestion that the cops started it.
Happy Hooker
Guest
Always have mate. You're lot started it don't forget; shipping out the crims from 1788, so of course the coppers carry guns. If you don't like it, there is the obvious option available to you.
Lucan
Have to call "bulls**t" here. That incident had a LARGE run in the print and television news. All three commercial channels ran it, and followed it up days later.