Wanderers fans tarnish otherwise thrilling encounter

Well, I don't particularly follow soccer as I find it all pretty dull, as such my comment then is purely as a dispassionate outsider. Image wise, Soccer/Football is very quickly going down the path of its former incarnations as being a sport for 'mad arabs' and ethnic hoons. Note I said "image". As some have posted above, it seems to be that Football now has hit a growth hurdle, much like all business does, in that it had a good core following but there are massive hurdles to breach if you want real FTA coverage on a commercial channel and not gloat over 1 game per week on SBS - which honestly has both shown football from its first day, and serves this core audience by its very nature as an 'ethnic' broadcaster. No big channel will show soccer atm and run the risk of these clowns in the crowd going berserk on National TV for the notoriety.

CDM, just scrolled further down. Nice set of posts.

Brick, that is my big ugly mug. Change the name to the side splitters and I am in. I'll start with a riff on the old Seinfeld joke about sports fans only cheering for the clothes players wear. Ps. I cannot believe Veronica would not come to your party. Next time invite Tits McGee, I have heard she is much more accommodating.

I find AFL in Western Sydney amusing, and that's the reason why this issue has caused so interest for you AR. Now you finally get a chance to get back at those people who think your beloved code smells like raw sewerage here.

Jeznez I don't know if that's you in the avatar but if it is I'd like to sign you up to be top boy in my firm,we're called the "shin splitters",you certainly look like you could handle yourself.

I think Johan is taking the piss.

@ the Beautifull game. My fishing buddy earns about 35k a year and is a rugby fan. Then again he is a Kiwi.

"Pakistani crowds riot stone sober. They tear down fences, wreck stands, pelt players with anything they can lay their handson. And all that without a drop to drink." p15, The Inside Edge, Rod Marsh. 1983. Also have a lookat this page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Series_Cricket_tour_of_West_Indies Notice that in both the passages provided the reasons given for the violence are not related to cricket. Yet the same analysis is not provided whn reporting on football riots. And I am wondering what the Australian you knew and grew up with thought of the gang violence perpetrated by Australians against 'new Australians" at Cronulla in 2005? Though i don't personally see it as a problem, flares are illegal and every time a fan rips one they are giving ammunition to those who would see our game struggle. Fans that take part in this behaviour should know what to expect when it happens and what happens to them if they are caught.

Kane, I apologise if I am coming across as condescending or thumbing my nose - that is not my intention. Of course there is vastly more violence on the pitch and outside the rules of the game in rugby compared to football. And I am not saying that brawls do not ever occur post rugby matches. The HK 7s famously had a 100 man brawl in Wan Chai only a couple of seasons ago. I am interested in how groups self police though. When looking for news in this space I think the most interesting article I found was from August last year. "Sydney FC's The Cove famously frog-marched one of their own to security at Newcastle a few years ago. They were bagged for being "dobbers" by other supporter groups, but the fact is they started something. Self-policing has become the norm, not the exception, in the A-League. It's working." http://www.smh.com.au/sport/a-league/no-riot-but-football-must-get-rid-of-the-idiots-20120815-247nz.html That section of the article is a great story - and something that makes me proud to be from Sydney. The excuses from both clubs and the lack of condemnation is what is irking me in his instance.

Auteur, have a happy new year – I am not trying to pick a fight. I have never claimed to be an expert in A-League or Football. Do I have to be an expert to say that groups of opposing fans throwing sticks, tables and chairs at each other in a public street is unacceptable? What the groups were supporting is not all that relevant. Much more relevant is the ethos of the group and its chosen method of support - does it allow a mob mentality to take over, is it testosterone fuelled and does the group and masks provide a blanket of anonymity, will related organisations and fellow supporters condone, excuse, condemn or halt unacceptable behaviour. I have been reading the comments on this issue with interest for a couple of days. I only felt prompted to comment myself when a reference to my sport of choice came up. And then not to condemn wholesale, merely to provide a different perspective and hopefully participate in discussion. I also commented to counter a hackneyed stereotype about my code - something I would expect Football fans in this country to empathise with. I can see the good things that active support provides – I just don’t downplay the challenges that come with it. I’ve witnessed firsthand the police presence needed to keep FA Cup fans separated on match day, we’ve all seen the video from the weekend and in searching for that I came across quite a few other stories involving unacceptable behaviour from A League active support groups and it included at least two other sides that weren’t included in this weekend’s fracas. I sincerely hope that Australian Football does not wind up in the same space, nor go through the same darkness that preceded the current status quo of European Football support. On the flipside, I hope that Australian rugby can get some of the passion and noise into its support that Aussie Football has and that other nation's rugby has. I hope it can do so without changing its character as well. I'm not trying to say either side has it right. As usual things are not completely black and white.

But you seem to want to comment on it.

Jenez, I grew up around reigonal Rugby Union and I saw more punch-ups on and off the pitch there than in my entire adulthood of watching football and doubly so in the post game drinks where on the field spats turn in to drunken brawls. No doubt there is some sincerity to some of your words but on the whole it just looks like you're thumbing your noses at us. As for separation being inherrently worse, what is wrong with you? You try chanting two different things when the crowd is a dotted mix of two sets of fans, it just comes off as jumbled garbage. The separation is as much about keeping in good voice than it is stopping violence and for all your "Sincerity" If you can't see that then you have no place in this conversation.

"If active support can work without scenes like were seen on the weekend then great. We shouldn’t need a massive police presence to achieve that though." It CAN and it DOES. Look to the other A-League teams. "I certainly don’t buy that the segregation is only to keep active and GA groups apart." Well that's unfortunate, you believe that. "The contrast I was offering was that rugby union actively encourages the opposing sets to mix." Well good for Rugby. Do they want a medal? You clearly don't know much about the A-League or Football, do you?

I know it was, ciudad. I just get frustrated by the old stereotype. It is equally as relevant as the old Johnny Warren trio of sheilas, wo........ I've played and coached rugby union in Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore. In Sydney I played at school, in the Sydney premiership and later in subbies. Yes elements of the silver spoon set you describe exist but there are also plenty of clubs that are not reflective of what you describe at all. I've played with and against both types and the 'spirit of rugby' persists. No matter the background of the players - leaving it all on the pitch and enjoying a beer after the game is something that is consistent. If people do step out of line they are universally and quickly pulled into line or kicked out. Football in Oz will have something special if it can keep its atmosphere but purge the idiots. Unfortunately the exact same d-heads who are running around George St and the Cross on a Saturday night king-hitting strangers are going to watch footage like that from the weekend and think you beauty! I can chuck on a mask, march in a mob and act tough there as well. Keeping the vibrancy of support while eliminating those idiots from the group is going to be the challenge. The fact both clubs are blaming the opposition and WSW are saying only about 5 or 6 of their fans were involved on the weekend when the video shows groups from both teams much larger is a red flag to me that the clubs and the League aren’t ready to get serious on this yet.

The Auteur I wouldn't venture to know why Kevin Sheedy says anything. But I find Allan's comment amusing.

That's quite true. In the late 1800s and into the early 1900s, spectator violence at Australian Football matches was a huge problem, with the suburban rivalries of Carlton, Collingwood, Richmond etc going head to head every week.

My comment was tongue in cheek of course but I'd still argue that the camaraderie of which you speak comes from being brought up under a certain set of conditions - certain schools, educated parents with middle class values when it comes to sport (I,e,, play for the good of the game, sportsmanship is more important etc etc).

ps - Auteur, went back and checked who that reply was to. How on earth could you mistake me for dbswannie?

You have got me confused with someone else. Don't have any kids and wasn't the person you were replying to. My only posts here have been the three above. Prompted by the slight dig at the 'rah rah set'. Thought that opened a door to open a discussion on two very different crowds/methods of expressing support. I certainly don't buy that the segregation is only to keep active and GA groups apart. It is also to keep the two sets of active fans apart. This whole set of articles has been prompted by what can happen when these two groups - or at least elements of them - mix. The contrast I was offering was that rugby union actively encourages the opposing sets to mix. Means you don't get the organised chants but in the British Isles that doesn't stop great support with Millenium ringing out to Land of our Fathers, Murrayfield to Flower of Scotland, Twickenham to Swing Low and Landsdowne to Fields of Athen Rye. Hearing entire stadiums go up in song is awesome. We just don't do that well over here in rugby. If active support can work without scenes like were seen on the weekend then great. We shouldn't need a massive police presence to achieve that though.

#Matthew Skellet Where is the passion for the game in all this? Perhaps we have a differing interpretation. Comparing to cricket is a bit feeble. On Boxing day most of 90,000+ fans spent over 7 hours at the 'G and there were 2 arrests for drunkeness and you try to compare this to a bunch of soccer twits who can't concentrate for a 90 min game that only requires the fingers of one hand to tally the score??? Compare perhaps to the 19k who spent 3 hrs at Etihad last night for the Renegades v Heat. That is a short time but still twice as long as a soccer match. For AFL fans a soccer or rugby game is over before we know it (3/4 time) so it astounds me that 90 mins is too long for these fans to watch a game (but how many actually are watching it intently). Back to interpretations of 'passion'.