Over the last few days the Australian media has been witness to one of the most incredible beat-ups in the history of sports coverage. News Corp reporter Rebecca Wilson printed a story on Sunday naming and shaming the 190 football fans who have been banned from various stadiums across Australia.
In a number of articles, Wilson describes the violence in Australian football as “endemic and acute” and that there are “rats in the ranks of club supporters who wreak havoc at games”.
DAVID GALLOP STATEMENT ON LEAKED LIST
This was only made worse on Monday when shock jock Alan Jones asked Wilson, “Is this like terrorism in Paris? The leaders have no guts?”. Now not only is this a terrible thing connecting the horrible events that took place around Paris so soon after they occurred, but it’s creating the imagery that all football supporters are part of some regime to create violence during games, which is simply absurd.
There are a couple of main problems I have with both Wilson’s and Jones’ sentiments.
Firstly, it ignores the larger problem of often drunken violence at sporting codes across the country. Yes, the A-League has seen its fair share of incidents, especially with items such as flares being thrown but it is not isolated to football.
We saw during the Good Friday NRL game this year Bulldogs and Rabbitohs supporters throwing bottles at officials and players in some of the worse scenes ever witnessed in Australian sport.
In AFL, a Fremantle Dockers fan began punching an off-duty policewoman during a finals game in Perth. These are just two examples from this year that show there is often a wider problem that was selectively ignored by Wilson and co.
I think a lot of this is due to Wilson, an AFL and NRL reporter, and a lot of other big media stakeholders in this country, being worried about the spread of football in this country.
The fact is, they should be.
Like I have written about before, football is quickly becoming one of the biggest sports in this country from the grassroots up, and it is confronting for many people who see it as a ‘European’ or ‘immigrants’ game, which is unfortunately the mindset for many people.
I’m not sure why all these sports can’t co-compete, but for some reason there has to be a premier sport that dominates all in this country and it is an attitude that has to change. The vitriol from reporters such as Wilson who have not only been attacking the sport, but also the Western Sydney Wanderers’ fans The Red and Black Bloc, is spiteful at best in an attempt to make something topical.
Wilson, who once called herself a “walking, talking example of diversity in sport”, is tearing down one of the most multiculturally diverse games in Australia that manages to combine different ethnicities and backgrounds to support the one team.
Yes, as a Sydney FC fan the RBB can be considered our biggest rivals but no one wants to see them torn down for what a minority of them are doing, let alone being publicly humiliated on the front page of a nationwide paper.
Part of the problem as well is that there is no appeal process set in place for people who have been convicted of these incidents in stadiums, with people who have done things as minor as holding up a banner in the wrong section of the crowd included in the list Wilson published on the weekend.
What Wilson has managed to do, unfortunately for her, is the one thing that will help her cause the least, bring football fans together. All across social media channels people are coming together to support the sport and remind her that football is growing into one of, if not the biggest sport in this country.
It is the second time within the month that all football fans have united among a common cause, with the #SaveTheNix campaign beginning to help the Wellington Phoenix push for a long-term contract in the A-League, in a show of cross-support not before seen in Australia.
Average attendances are up more than 33 per cent on average since the A-League’s inception, compared with a 10 per cent decline in NRL crowds. In the most recent census, football was the most participated sport at the grassroots level, additionally, a recent Roy Morgan poll showed 8.2 per cent of children aged six and up are involved with football as opposed to only 1.6 per cent who are involved in rugby league.
This groundswell of support is what is pushing the sport’s success. Now in it’s 11th season, the A-League is becoming a serious competitor for the other sporting codes with the FFA starting to consider expansion plans and even the possibility for promotion/relegation to replicate the European leagues that make the game so popular.
Football is growing, and comments and articles like the ones from Wilson and Jones will only continue to unite the sport in this country and make the fans stronger as one. The passion and support of A-League fans is like nothing I have ever seen in Australia.
Some of the big games, last month’s Sydney Derby for example, have the atmosphere of massive European cup ties with fans at either end standing and singing for a whole 90 minutes. (Have a look at some of the best bits in the Cope90 video below.)
The scariest thing for the other codes in this country… football is only just getting started.
G
Guest
Well you won't stop AFL meddling, but I don't see why as an NRL fan I should be qorried about a summer sport that woud be lucky to achieve 10% as much for their broadcast rights. Maybe in Victoria and SA theres an anti-soccer mentality but in NSW I don't see it besides Wilson, and noone listens to her anyway. I just don't understand this "everyones scared of football it's so much better than other sports", just watch your sport and who cares what others think?! Wheres your evidence of league parents punching? An NRL player swore at a ref and it got more coverage than flares at soccer.
c
Guest
gee Boris you got one thing right and that is that you are a casual Observer
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
The non-SBS media in Australia is overwhelmingly white and seemingly fearful of multi-culturalism. I was reading on the WAAPA website a while back (Western Australian Acadamy of Performing Arts) and they mentioned one of their graduates recently became the first ever aboriginal actor on neighbours. I couldn't believe it. This Australian show that has been around for 30 years or more has never previously had a single aboriginal character. After watching The Project one time it occurred to me that Whaled Ali may well be the only non-white regular on a news or current affairs program on any of the main commercial channels. I could be wrong, there could be others, but if there are there certainly aren't many. And I'm pretty sure if you go to our newspapers and checked out the journalists there you'd probably find something similar. For a country with people from so many different backgrounds, it's appalling how unrepresentative out television and general media is. And it's no surprise that in many cases you'll find a lot of the same people who are really anti-football are the same people who are anti-immigration and anti-refugees etc.
Ian
Guest
Thanks Eurosnob - LOL - Australian Rules seems to care a hell of a lot, and if there wasn't a threat of some sort why the exaggerated negativity? When league parents run onto a sports field to bash the players do you see it on the front or back page? No? Because it wasn't put there.
Jets Fan
Guest
The worst thing anyone can do to support Wilson is to react to her articles. Personally i don't read her tripe or the Rag she writes for. The terrorgraph is banned reading in my house! As for Jones, well look back at his rugby days for his proclivities.
Anthony Ferguson
Guest
Is that right? Just get the chip off our shoulder, stop sooking and move on eh? Maybe after 100 years of dragging out the same tired old paranoid anti sockah cliches, certain members of the mainstream Oz sports media should grow up, get the chip off their shoulder, stop sooking and move on too.
Paul
Guest
the best thing football fans can do is stop buying what I call The Daily Liar. Football is starting to challenge the established football codes in NSW with the majority of children playing football at least for a season before they turn thirteen. Football does not discrimate before the age of thirteen with boys and girls allowed to play in mixed teams. the only issue with junior football is that the fees are significantly higher than the other codes. I don't know if football is challenging AFL in the southern and western states, but the football community appears to be uniting in such a way that the NRL, AFL, ARU and cricket (main challenger in the summer sports space) are threatened. We can thank Clive Palmer for one thing which is when he handed in his A-League license for the Gold Coast which ultimately resulted in the formation of a club in football's western Sydney heartland. Together with the arrival of Alessandro del Piero and the birth of the Western Sydney Wanderers, football had a wonderful couple of seasons, at least in Sydney. I can only hope the true football family will get out and support their chosen clubs as much as possible. We also need the FFA to start a proper consultative process with fans rather than the Frank Lowy dictatorial model of engagement with the fans. And as I said earlier, we all need to stop buying the Daily Liar and I add, stop listening to the other dictator of opinions, Alan Jones
Upfromdown
Guest
There is plenty of examples of all sports being victimised or criticised at times. it is not unique to football/soccer. I prefer rugby union to any other football code and that gets a tough time in the media from league & AFL journalists. Does it matter though? Well not really. They are just as likely to get stuck into their own codes as anyone else. Funny that the world's biggest & most popular game seems to have an inferiority complex in Australia.
G
Guest
And anyone who evens thinks about reading a Rebecca Wilson article these days should give themselves an uppercut; I've not done so in years. It's not just Soccer that cops it from her, it's just negative drivel and hate for everything and everyone that isn't the Swans.
G
Guest
Noone outside of soccer cares whether Soccer succeeds or not, get the chip off your shoulder Soccer fans. I am a League man, yet I enjoy watching Euro soccer and world cups (just not the relatively low quality A-League). I don't see soccer as a threat and few do. And in regards to the DT whinging, Booze Rothfield pumps up round balls tyres weekly. Seriously, just enjoy your sport and stop the paranoid sooking! And believe me, no one is worried about the "spread of football".
Paul
Guest
FIFA has more members than the UN. Tiny Palestine whooped Malaysia 6-0 TWICE during this round of WCQs. Yet it cannot have a vote in UN resolutions.
jbinnie
Guest
Herbert- just used 150 because it fitted in with the 3 years of different opponents for the Socceroos. Cheers jb
Paul
Guest
HS in Melbourne is probably worse.
Cugel
Roar Rookie
Just whine some more, that will make people like you. And just keep squeaking "football" at every opportunity.
Punter
Guest
You'd know all about pimples.
Herbal Lint
Guest
"209 countries playing football" Fixed, and that's just the FIFA members.
trenerry boy
Roar Rookie
There is pimples all over this article, looks to be year 8 standard.
Zach Saunders
Guest
No they haven't. In fact the idea of "left" and "right" didn't even exist until after the French Revolution. All wars are caused by lust for money or power. Other factors are smokescreens.
Sydneysider
Guest
The irony in Alan Jones being: 1. Poltiically alligned to the right wing. 2. his listenership being people with religious affiliations (that is hilarious considering the religions' stance against gay marriage.....) You can't take him seriously.
Towser
Guest
Was about to say the same the same thing jb,but will give you the accolades for saying it anyway. Touching the National sporting psyche of Australia is sacrosanct. The Socceroos under Ange have a chance of reaching the high plane of the Cricket team. Success, respect and consistency in respect to Success the key words. .