Victory issued show-cause notice for flare up

Just curious: If someone were raped in the middle of the street, would anyone turn the rapist in? If a pickpocket was working the subway, and someone saw them make a snatch, would they say anything, or just ignore it? If someone drove past a school, threw a stone out the window and hit a kid, would someone take down the license plate or would they just walk the other way. Setting off flares in an enclosed space may not be as bad as rape, but it certainly is as bad/dangerous as pickpocketing or throwing rocks. Not only could people be injured / killed (if a fire broke out), but now that the FFA has adopted a formal policy, it also can cost your club the championship. If Australian "sports fans" (sic) think that turning in a flare setter is "dobbing", and somehow not "good manners", then it isnt just the football part of Australian life that needs some reform.

"And they did this for booing you say? " No. They did it for a racist comment, which was picked up and reported in the press, thus shaming the entire club and its supporters. Racism is a red line for people in most countries. Maybe Aussies feel differently ??? Hmmmm ???

"On Sunday Gerard Wheatley said that the fans had been “ludicrously indulged” last year". What?? How? Clearly, you and this other AFL guy Wheatley (that I'm apparently supposed to actually give a crap about his opinion), are completely incapable of understanding/separating the issue(s) at hand., you're excused because you're a football tab tr0ll, but doesn't Wheatley get paid to know what's actually going on? issue#1 appeals process for innocent parties, issue #2 flare use by guilty parties.. Super easy to understand, even for super dumdums.

Am I full of it? Ok provide a link! Let's see, it may be true that he was arrested., whether it gets thrown out or if there's any substance to it well that's a different story... I saw the channel 9 footage which is an ABSOLUTE NON STORY.. It's a few guys pushing a camera, that's being shoved in their faces.. Big #%^* deal! Perhaps you guys need to a demonstration on what it looks like to really be attacked..for educational purposes of course..

Why is it that anyone who condemns this behaviour suddenly has never been to a game? It's extraordinary. No more extraordinary than people who continue to throw flares though. And surely people aren't going to get their noses in a not about a television crew filming whilst failing to condemn this ongoing outrageous behaviour of the try hard fans. It's time genuine football lovers stood up to those who claim to love the sport but don't. I think that time will come,but it's about time.

Ooh fascist militancy. That kind of thing would go down a treat with the general public here. And they did this for booing you say? Well well.

and yeah you are the typical fan. you and fuss could share hot chocolate alone in the grandstand (maybe with Ian as well)

gee lester are you wearing Fuss blinkers? he maes a fair point

Matsu, I think that highlights the difference in culture between Japan and Australia (or the west) more than anything else. In particular the threat of public shaming (which would also shame the families of the individuals named) would be a powerful deterrent in Japan but not so much here. One big problem with self policing on Australia is the negativity around 'dobbing.' I'm not sure that is the same in Japan. Good to see you are still hanging around here by the way :)

On Sunday Gerard Wheatley said that the fans had been "ludicrously indulged" last year. Given the past week's events, it's hard not to agree with that. Idiot minority who are defended by other idiots.

The Japanese also have their own authentically Japanese way of supporting their soccer league. None of it feels like aped wannabe euro nonsense, and is in many ways quite similar to their baseball rituals. I've lived in Japan for years, speak the language and worked for Japanese companies, and the biggest difference between them and us is you'd never see a Japanese fan say they'd support South Korea in a baseball international because they are only 'interested in soccer people and don't give a stuff about anything else in the country'.

Very good short doco.

They say that the man who acts as his own lawyer has a fool for a client.

"If you think that shoving a cameraman who’s just doing his job isn’t grounds for a charge of common assault, you too are seriously living in a state of delusion." Numerous common law defences available to me. Would never get to court.

Muskie did say that (good St Albans lad too, he is).

If you think that shoving a cameraman who's just doing his job isn't grounds for a charge of common assault, you too are seriously living in a state of delusion. What happened to that law degree of yours?

If you think that shoving a cameraman who's just doing his job isn't grounds for a charge of common assault, you too are seriously living in a state of delusion.

FUSS, As far as I know, all Australians have index fingers, and know how to point them. Thats all that is needed (well . . . that and the actual willingness to tackle the issue, rather than just making excuses) I also think youre wrong about England and Germany, though having visited both San Siro and the Maksimir myself (in the late 1980s no less), I know that the rest of Europe is not quite as "sedate"

@Matsu Having lived for nearly a year in Japan I can assure you the respect for authority & overall good manners in Japan is something we can only dream about in Australia. I can fully accept how you've described the way Japanese would handle this situation. I wish it were the same here. In relation to Europe, I think you are way off if you think people are handing over those who misbehave. Monkey chants on the terrace occur regularly & no one does anything; flares are routinely lit on continental Europe. In England they may not light as many flares - they tend to break windows & damage bars & cafes.

This (above) comment says it all From an outsider's perspective. How is it possible that a flare can be let off right in the midst of a large and supposedly "loyal" fan club??? Yet the person who set it off is not only able to walk away with all of their bones intact . . . . nobody even seems to be willing to identify them! All it takes is for the person next to him to point a finger and say: "arrest that man!" Just for perspective, the J.League had a few flare incidents back in the early days, but after just 3 or 4 incidents the league announced a lifetime ban POLICY and public registration (ie the person's name was released TO THE PUBLIC, and registered with the police in all prefectures as a "potential criminal"). After that, only two incidents occurred, both fans were banned for life and there has never been anything approaching such an incident again. On a note of more personal experience, while Mike Havenaar was at Kofu, he ran behind goal after one tally against Tochigi SC, and gave the "shhhh" gesture. Three individuals shouted insults at him, including at least one of them saying "you arent Japanese!" Though the incident was too minor for the League to address, the Tochigi SC fan clubs organized an internal inquest and located the three. The team front office paid to rent a bus, and all the fan club leaders travelled to Kofu with the three offenders in tow. In an incident a close friend of mine actually witnessed, Mike and his teammates were asked to come outside the stadium where the Tochigi supporters dragged the three offenders out and (after pouring buckets of water on the ground to create a patch of mud) forced them to get down and prostrate themselves in the mud while apologising and begging forgiveness. According to the Tochigi fan club leaders, the three were given one year bans by the team, but told in no uncertain terms that if they ever showed their faces in the fan club section again, they would leave on a stretcher. Though unsavoury incidents are not unknown in Japan, they are dealt with strictly, BY THE FANS AND TEAMS THEMSELVES, and the result has been a complete absence of flares or other truly dangerous activities. THAT is what it means to police your own supporters. And dont tell me it cant happen in Australia. Or are you telling me that Japanese fans have better eyesight and memory for faces, or something of that sort? It certainly has not detracted from the "atmosphere" at J.League games. I havent seen anything quite as extreme in Europe, but at least in England and Germany, when a serious incident occurs, the individual is usually identified and arrested, in short order If the people next to the flare lighter are not prepared to point him out (or better yet, to drag him by the collar down the terraces and up to the security detail), then they are just as guilty as the flare-lighter themselves. Until the culture changes, it is absolutely accurate to say that these people are not football fans.