What a week it has been. Rebecca Wilson’s article has not only set off a wave of emotions but impacted livelihoods, as well as raising serious questions regarding privacy and a fair appeals process.
But make no mistake, as much as football fans can see through the blatant lies and propaganda, the fact is it still impacts the perception of our sport, the ability to draw new fans, and paints us in an unfair and unwarranted light.
Ultimately, however, you cannot solve the problems we have and our portrayal in the media until you identify root causes. And these causes are many.
It comes from an agenda-driven media aligned with other codes and media sensationalism to corporate agendas and a fear of football’s growth. Yet another important cause of the mayhem is the FFA’s policy of appeasing this agenda-driven media.
Call it naivety, stupidity or just plain failure to see the bigger picture, the anti-football media has played the FFA like a puppet on a string. And the FFA has allowed itself to be played and manipulated causing significant damage to our game, the fans and the club.
The stupidity of it all is the FFA’s policy of appeasing an agenda-driven media. By its very nature, you cannot appease an institution that has an agenda against you. You can only feed it. And this could not have been better reflected then through David Gallop’s media announcement earlier this week.
Gallop talked about the FFA’s tough stand and zero tolerance towards trouble makers. No mention of the agenda-driven media. Why expose the very institution that is not only trying to hurt you, but whom you are trying to appease?
Worryingly he even try tried to downplay the leak of the confidential document which is potentially illegal and highly unethical, saying it was not important and we may never know who did it (how about investigating Wilson for your answer). Which makes you wonder what they are trying to hide.
But ultimately Gallop and the FFA walked into the media’s trap. It is because the FFA is trying to show it is tough on ‘hooligans’ that it has banned (often unfairly) so many individuals. Many times more than the NRL or AFL. In an attempt naively limit the bad press, they played right into the media’s hands, resulting in the media exposé this week on the 198 banned fans.
It was the perfect set up. At the same time the FFA’s need to appease has led it to discard natural justice and a need for a fair trial, putting it at odds with its fans. The media successfully caused division among the football community, again playing the FFA splendidly.
Where was Gallop’s vigorous defence of the fans. Why did he not cite statistics that show that evictions in football games are on par or less than those of AFL and NRL in both real and percentage terms. Why not use facts to fight bias and defend your fans. Even yesterday the article of violent evictions from the SCG Trust showed football at the bottom of the list with the least evictions.
Some of you may have read my social media post about two days after Rebecca Wilson’s article. In it I said it is only a matter of time before she plays the victim card, claiming she is been harassed and hurt by the reaction out there. And like clockwork it happened.
This is the media plan. Write an explosive article, create blowback and then portray yourself as the victim, thus reinforcing the stereotype of the dreaded football hooligan, baying for blood and likening them to terrorists in this climate of fear.
So in the FFA’s quest to appease the unappeasable it has divided a football community, denied its own fans of natural justice, fed into the media fear campaign, helped reinforce unwarranted stereotypes about its own fans, helped ruin livelihoods and made it more difficult to attract new fans to our games, hurting the clubs and football in general. Not bad for a day’s work.
Some of you may have heard of the Greek philosopher Diogenes, who carried a lamp around his town seeking an honest man. Well replace the word town with FFA headquarters and honest man with an intelligent person and I am sure Diogenes would have his work cut out for him.
MarkfromCroydon
Guest
This is one of the best articles I've ever read on this site or any other. Factual, correct, analytic, and spot on in the description of the actual events that have been taking place. Great to see someone tell it like it is and with great clarity of thought and expression. It's articles like this that keep me coming back to this site.
rasty
Guest
The people that count do.
Davybhoy
Roar Rookie
No loyal supporter ever walks out on his team. The real fans are the ones that stayed behind to watch and cheer on their team.
Freddie
Guest
That's right, the biggest sport in the world. And still growing. How's the AFL expansion going? 140 years old, and still only played professionally in one country. Surely the biggest Australian sporting failure of the last century.
Freddie
Guest
Isn't it strange, Perry Mason, that when cold hard facts are used as evidence of supporters from other codes being violent, disclaimers start appearing, from those who are only too eager to stick the boot into football crowds, without any such caveats?
Perry Bridge
Guest
re the destroyed seats well that's clearly not so when in the MVFC v Melb City semi this year in May that the seats were destroyed on level 3 and various rubbish including seat fragments found themselves 'dropping' over the edge to the crowd below. On your assertion of more incidents of assaults/far more arrests etc please clarify your assertion with some data. And - IF you can manage that be sure to normalize your comparative data in some way. Given that I can easily comprehend that there's a massive difference in issues that might relate from alcohol consumption between a 1.5 hours game of NRL or HAL compared to a 7-8 hour day in the heat of summer at the cricket (personally I don't see the point in going to the cricket, with how much it costs - just to drink alcohol and get heat stroke so I'm still unsympathetic to the individuals). So - I assume that you wouldn't try to compare a 1.5 hour match with a full day on Boxing Day for example. That'd just be plain silly.
fiddlesticks
Guest
you and your mates punter, fuss, UJ obviously dont. that is if you are more than 1 person
fiddlesticks
Guest
involved or found guilty? there is a difference
fiddlesticks
Guest
there you go again with your slurs against white people
marron
Roar Guru
Perry Could you please let the police/security/ffa know about this dropping the flares thing please. There have hardly been flares at parramatta for ages, there were protocols in place to deal with them which the RBB, security and police were happy with. But we still get the riot squad. It just isn't that simple. I guess it's a different outlook as far as your music analogy goes. Music is one of my other interests and I've long held the opinion that music is about participation - a two way thing between creator and audience. So to me, music is not much without the element of the crowd. I've never needed to drop pills to enjoy it either. But, the crowd is intrinsic to the event, absolutely in my opinion. Now, I can appreciate the view that says that no, I should just sit back and appreciate the musician in front of me and admire their skill and be a passive observer. But that's not for me at all what music is about - it's a communion to me, a shared experience. It's not surprising then that it's also how I like to consume sport. I always laugh when people tell me how making some noise at a football game is silly. What, and watching men chase a ball around is any less silly? Thing is, i'm not on my own (and neither are you), and neither viewpoint actually precludes anyone from appreciating other elements.... I can do what i do in the home end, and still appreciate the skills on show. And the majority of fans will enjoy the game, and appreciate the atmosphere. So I've never gone JUST to be part of the crowd, but football to me is more than the game on the park (even though, obviously, this is a big part of it). Conchie will no doubt tell me at this point it's secondary (it's not, I enjoy the game itself immensely) but that's not what I'm trying to say. It's all linked. The culture around the game and the stands and the community is a part and parcel of it. If all I wanted to do was watch the game, I could do so by walking 5 minutes from my house every weekend and taking in some park football. If I wanted better quality I could watch a European league on TV. But I want the experience only live sport can deliver, and the experience that being part of a community can deliver as well.
Perry Bridge
Guest
Yeah - but Waleed Aly is a Richmond tragic so of course he understands it.... #marron the 'rowdy' supporters largely just have to drop the flares. Surely not too much to ask. It just seems that there's a 'negotiation' in place where the rowdy supporters seem to feel that they shouldn't be expected to make any compromise and that all such requests and an attack on their very existence. It is slightly amusing watching this play out. If everyone seriously is there for the game and the game foremost then I struggle with why there's such an issue. This notion that all this 'rowdy carry-on' is somehow an intrinsic part of the 'atmosphere' of the game is akin to the folk in the mosh pit taking ecstasy pills claiming that they are intrinsic to a music event. And I make that statement aware that crowd/atmosphere can be great and a memorable aspect of a match/game. But I've never gone just to be part of the crowd.
RBBAnonymous
Guest
You have far more incidents of assaults at games, far more arrests, far more evictions at every other major sport in Australia, the destroyed seats are mostly as a result of active supporters having a desire to stand at the home end rather than sitting down. This can easily be solved with safe seat standing and all those poor seats will have been saved. In any case the destruction of seats is unfortunate for which all clubs have been sent bills for and for which they have paid.
Perry Bridge
Guest
Not sure why this #Vic fellow has his keyboard stuck on CAPS LOCK???? Giving me an ear ache!!! I would've thought both the tone and manner should be discouraged but whatever.....
Perry Bridge
Guest
I'm equally curious about this point. #RBBAnonymous more violent? Certainly less flares. And what about the numbers of destroyed seats?
Ian
Guest
Probably no sport enhancing drugs, or women being assaulted by the English based game called Victorian Rules. No one knew it existed in 1872 - oh wait - no one still knows it exists. anywhere.
Ian
Guest
They already do Martyn. Why are you pretending otherwise?
Ian
Guest
rasty - if you think football has no relevance in Australia you are a tie me kangaroo down waltizing matilda don bradman joke. i've been to a half dozen afl games.....can't really comment on the alcohol. as for horse racing and test cricket - yes those days are designed for people to get tanked. people don't really watch the horses - they get sloshed (the crowd not the horses) - maybe the horse racing is so boring and then they cheer really loudly for that one moment when a horse crosses in first place. not enough action for me. test cricket lasts the entire day. people take books for God's sake to read to pass the time. Then get beers.Yes I've been to test cricket too. i enjoy the battles that can be played out in the best form of that game - but going at it for 9 hours is a hard slog for the crowd without books and beer.
Vic
Guest
COMMENT OF THE DAY!
Vic
Guest
Gerard Whately IS NO fan of Football! HE IS YOUR ARCHETYPAL WASPY CRICKET & AUSSIE FUMBLE-BALL FAN
Vic
Guest
ARE YOU YET ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE WASPY AFL (AUSSIE FUMBLE-BALL LEAGUE) PLAYER???