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The genie is out of the bottle when it comes to the A-League’s fans, players, clubs and media – and it won’t be going back in.
The original newspaper story revealing the identities of banned fans wouldn’t have been designed to have this effect, but what it has done is trigger what promises to be a massive shake-up of the game.
This is not just over the inadequacies of the appeals process for banned fans, but whatever the issues might be that matter.
Whether you like what the fans have done or not, with their boycotts of matches they have established some genuine power.
How else would they manage to get a meeting with the new Football Federation Australia chairman, Steven Lowy, on Wednesday night?
The fans took action and their action had the effect of not only significantly reducing match attendances for the round just gone, but also dramatically affecting the atmosphere.
The A-League thrives on the atmosphere created by the active supporter groups and the FFA knows it.
But the fans are just one part of it. The established football media has shown enormous bite on this issue and shocked the FFA as a result.
It has taken the FFA to task for what was an initially lame response to the story, in the belief that the people who run the game should have been straight-away robust in condemning the nature of the article and defending the game.
The media’s response has begun to have the effect of making the FFA accountable for not only its initial failures on the response to the banned fans front but also a myriad of other issues.
Commentators from Fox Sports and SBS’ The World Game have savaged the FFA and in particular its CEO, David Gallop, but the criticism has come from the print media as well.
I cite the story by David Davutovic and Matt Windley in the Herald Sun on the weekend as a prime example.
The headline, which read “How FFA scored 32 own goals in 18 months and CEO David Gallop still kept his job”, could not have been more provocative.
As you will usually get with a list like this, some of the issues identified were much bigger than others, but the bottom line is that there was plenty of meat on the bone.
And the timing of the ridiculous double stuff-up on Saturday, when the game between Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory was allowed to go ahead on a well below par pitch in Auckland and there was an irritating strip clash to boot, was perfect timing. Or horrible timing for the FFA.
The players, who are usually reticent to be very critical of the governing body in case there is a backlash, really found their voice on the issue of banned fans being regarded as guilty until proven innocent.
Sydney FC defender Sebastian Ryall led the way with an Instagram post ahead of last weekend’s round, which read: “The FFA has made a massive mistake. To have to prove yourself innocent goes against everything we believe in Australia.”
“The FFA think they are above the law, the fans of Australia make the game and without them we are nothing. I hope all fans boycott the games this weekend.
“I don’t care if your [sic] a Melbourne Victory fan or Western Sydney fan, if your [sic] not guilty of a crime you shouldn’t have to prove yourself innocent. This problem has to be fixed and until [sic] so, the FFA should be made to pay.”
Whether you agree with what Ryall had to say or not, it was gutsy of him to come out and say it.
In-between the FFA’s two media conferences last week, the first fronted by Gallop and the second by Lowy and Gallop, Victory chairman Anthony Di Pietro spoke at a Victory in Business luncheon and gave the FFA both barrels.
“Football needs its fans,” Di Pietro said. “Fan walkouts for whatever reason must be resolved with actions not rhetoric. There must be a fair and realistic appeals process put in place without delay.”
“How do you resolve problems? You sit at the table and talk about them, you sit with the fans and engage.”
Speaking more generally about issues affecting the game, Di Pietro said: “We say what happens in the next 12 months will determine the success of football in Australia for the next 10 years.
“Now is a time of challenge, as there are matters facing the FFA specific to the A-League that need dedicated attention and resolution.
“At grassroots level, Australian football leads the way. It has the highest participation. At the international level, the Socceroos are going from strength to strength.
“But the A-League is the central pillar of Australian football. The A-League must strive for excellence and market leadership. The A-League cannot be content any more with mediocrity. We are sick of it here.”
Perth Glory CEO Peter Filopoulos has since emerged to say in a long blog piece that there is no strong vision for the A-League.
“What’s our vision for 2020, 2030 and beyond?” Filopoulos said. “What strategies are we implementing to achieve this vision? What are the key strategic pillars which will be the pathway to our vision?”
“What plagues the A-League in my opinion is the absence of a strong and clear strategy for the competition. What’s our vision for the A-League in the next four years, what do we want the competition to look like and more importantly what are the key pillars to the strategy that will help achieve this vision?
“As a new CEO of a club in the A-League and regularly speaking about the game with sponsors, government, fans and the broader community, I am not able to speak with clarity about our vision and strategy as a competition.
“This strategy and vision needs to be developed by all key stakeholders as a one united front. The time to develop this vision and strategy for the A-League is NOW.”
The heat is right on the FFA and it’s coming from all directions.
Let’s see how its meeting with the fan group representatives goes on Wednesday night. The way the FFA approaches it should give a good indication of not only how well it is likely to handle that ongoing issue, but also other issues moving forward.
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