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Western Sydney’s active supporter group says it will boycott Saturday’s A-League match against Brisbane, describing FFA boss David Gallop’s response to the banned fans issue as “shambolic”.
The Red and Black Bloc (RBB) joined many online on Tuesday in condemning Gallop’s first public words since fan discontent boiled over following News Corp Australia’s “naming and shaming” of 198 banned A-League fans 10 days ago.
Wrath over the perceived privacy breach has escalated into a backlash against FFA for what fan groups see as a failure of leadership and lack of support.
In a statement on their Facebook page, the RBB slammed Gallop’s response on Tuesday as a “shambolic press conference” while attacking FFA over its stadium ban appeals model and for not defending fans over what the group perceived to be biased media coverage.
They pledged to boycott the Wanderers’ clash with the Roar at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday night in its entirety, a step up from last Sunday’s mid-match walkout in Gosford.
“This is the only way to continue sending a strong message to the FFA that we will not stand for their inept administration of our game,” the statement read.
“The FFA cannot use the fans as a marketing tool but then continually mistreat them, while asking them to help grow the game. It is counter intuitive and hypocritical.”
The RBB said boycotts and legal action over the banned list leak will continue until Gallop and head of A-League Damien De Bohun present active supporter groups with a transparent ban appeals process agreed upon by all parties.
That included providing any banned person with evidence used against them and allowing them to refute it.
De Bohun on Sunday said that if fans could prove they had been wrongfully banned, their ban would be overturned.
Since then supporter groups including the RBB, Melbourne Victory’s North Terrace and Sydney FC’s The Cove have denounced the proposed appeals structure on the basis that it places the burden of proof on fans when they should remain innocent until proven guilty.
The RBB’s swift response followed Gallop’s defence of FFA’s long-time banning protocol as a pathway to a safe environment for spectators.
The former NRL boss, who has been in India for the Asian Football Confederation awards, was firm in his stance that the appeals model will not be fundamentally altered, only “fine-tuned” in line with FFA’s “zero-tolerance policy for anti-social behaviour”.
He said fans would not be allowed to view evidence against them for confidentiality purposes.
When pressed Gallop could not name specific types of evidence those who felt they were unjustly banned could use to clear their names, or how they could be accessed.
“Of course there are a number of examples,” he said.
“You could prove you didn’t do it, if there was proof you didn’t do it, if you could prove it wasn’t you, then of course these are the obvious ones.
“It has to be strong evidence of course.”
He said he would take a number of options to FFA’s board including volunteer community service to reduce the length of bans and the inclusion of ex-players on a panel that deals with the issue.
Gallop, who slammed the leaks and confirmed they are being investigated, claimed an appeals process has always been in place.
However he acknowledged FFA had not adequately communicated its existence to clubs.
“We’ve listened to the fans this week,” Gallop said.
“We’ve seen the energy around these issues. But that energy has got to be used positively.”
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