Yesterday the Red and Black Bloc announced their intention to boycott the remainder of the Wanderers’ season, turning their backs – and not as part of a Poznan – on a season that has rarely caught the eye anyway.
The decision, according to their announcement, was based on a lack of communication between the supporters group, and the club management and the FFA. One wonders exactly why a group who brazenly wore T-shirts bearing ‘FCK FFA’ – a cute take on the RUN DMC logo – would expect the football’s governing body to be eager to engage with them.
Suffice it to say, this isn’t the first time the RBB have railed against a punishment they appear to have wholly earned.
Which is it: prawn sandwiches or flares? There seems to be very little middle ground when it comes to active support in the A-League. Naturally there is a very small section of football fans who have romanticised the ‘ultra’ mentality, who revel in wild fantasies of hooliganism and chaos and who see the vibrant, incendiary home support in Europe and South America as indivisible from that.
Football is rough, harsh competition and football supporters are rougher and harsher, the sentiment reflected in each fan and intensified with every reflection, a distilled, condensed embodiment.
Football at its core is supposed to be one of the few leisure activities of the working classes, where the downtrodden and undervalued can roar in catharsis. Fandom is tribal, and tribes war against each other. There is some sense to this, and there is value in preserving the spirit of these ideas.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
The word ‘bastard’ is hardly one that should cause a sharp intake of breath these days. It barely registers on the profanity scale. In fact if you were told someone had been arrested for offensive language after saying ‘bastard’ on the street, it’s likely that news would shock you more than the word itself, and it’s highly unlikely the arrest would lead to a conviction.
But how much sympathy should we have for the RBB capos who led the Bloc over megaphone in a raucous ACAB – ‘all cops are bastards’ – chant in front of on-duty police officers and who were subsequently banned from the stadium for five years for offensive chanting? Does the punishment fit the crime? Probably not, but they could easily have avoided it in the first place.
So the latest RBB boycott, for all we know, might stick for good. Regardless of how you view these supporter groups, it’s clear this brand of active support – the imagery of whom, we should remind ourselves, is continually used by the league and FFA in promotional material for every derby in the league – is incompatible with the current climate, a climate set in large part by the FFA.
The Squadron, which is the Jets active support who also wrapped up their matchday presence last year, and the North Terrace, which is the Victory active support, both cited in so many words excessive restrictions on the matchday experience as one of the main reasons for their stepping back.
“Widespread apathy and a loss of ‘mentality’…” the NOrth Terrace said in their Facebook statement. The Squadron spoke of the relationship with police and security forces as “consistently adversarial and aggressive”.
(AAP Image/Brendan Esposito)
I’ve never led a roaring maw of partisan troops, all chanting as one, all writhing in the ecstasy of victory or wallowing in the agony of defeat. How fragile is that mentality, as they say, and how susceptible to mortal bouts of apathy?
Watch this footage, taken from inside the Manchester City bus as it rolled up to Anfield this week; it seems unpleasant, to be sure, and although City’s Kevin de Bruyne has refused to condemn the Liverpool fans for their behaviour, it surely must have felt that way on the inside of that bus. But it’s also invigorating, isn’t it?
“It was okay,” de Bruyne said. “I don’t mind supporters doing that. I’ve had it a couple of times for my team and it’s a nice feeling.
“Breaking windows is probably not done, but who am I to say something? I am fine with it as long as no-one gets hurt.”
Liverpool apologised to the Manchester City team in the strongest possible terms for this behaviour and vowed to assist the authorities in punishing those responsible. Will this lead to the leaders that rouse the Kop releasing bleating Facebook statements and boycotting the next home game? Probably not.
If you want to wear a ‘FCK FFA’ T-shirt, you actually have to, well, not care what the FFA do or think, even – perhaps especially – if what they do tries to pour cold water on your defiance. Real ultras – if that’s what you’re purporting to be – probably don’t whinge and retreat because of an increased police presence or a few stadium bans.
The happy medium between illegal flares and violence, and a dead, airless stadium must exist. Personally I don’t think chants with swearing should be banned; in a stadium where active support has been driven out, you’d hear the players swearing at one another – or indeed at the referee – anyway.
Nothing about football, historically or practically, is or should be made G-rated. But I also think that active support and the kind of European vibrancy they hope to emulate, can be divorced from the violence and thuggery we still see in the grimier footballing areas of Europe.
Again we’ve come to a false impasse, and it’s very hard to see exactly who’s at fault. The suspicion is that both the RBB and the FFA are, but it’s the RBB who have withdrawn now, and we’ll see how long they stay away and how much damage, if any, their absence inflicts.
Freddie
Guest
But not you bobbym. You're here, talking and contributing. Good on you.
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
Talking to imaginary people would support some clinical diagnosis.
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
How sad must your life be, to spend your time on a sport you don’t like, how sad
Neil iffland
Guest
One fact that seems to get lost in these discussions is that being part of the RBB is the most fun you can have while standing up! Often I'll look around the RBB, during the game, and people are smiling and laughing and having a great time! People are standing and singing and clapping and having a great time and this is the main reason I keep coming back!
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
Coincidentally, I just responded to one of quartz's posts. Therefore, I would conclude that he is not one of my multis.
Grobbelaar
Roar Guru
The reality of sports business in the modern economy: you often hear fans and administrators talk about "growth....but....think of all the sports competitions which have started in Australia in the last forty years, and how many of them have experienced year on year growth over many decades? (note: I'm talking about elite level sport, not grass roots) I can't think of any. You can go through all of them: basketball, hockey, baseball, volleyball, netball - none have been able to sustain long term revenue growth. There is no such thing as growth in this part of the economy ( in terms of real growth). You land where you land, and that's it. You could say that elite football is well advanced of where it was in the depths of the NSL, but It's a tiny bit illusory. At one point, the NSL had 12 games per weekend, and people sometimes forget that the NSL too had some grand finals featuring high attendances. The one club which played in both the NSL and A-League has never been able to get back to the highpoint of its attendnances in the old NSL. Taking an even broader view, I can't see that the elite level of the game is any more advanced than what it was in the 1960s in terms of media interest, and attendance on a pro rata basis. You land where you land, and that's it.
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
Why, what is it about thousands of people arms on shoulders jumping up and down? What about that offends you so much?
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
Quartz? Is he one of your multis?
quartz
Guest
some folk have a strong sense of civic duty
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
Why? Never seen you here before which multi are you?
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
Bull, not true, if you watched football you know the UWS is still a sponsor, so stop lying
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
That’s a lie they haven’t lost two I have explained this, you are such a fraud
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
Then why do you feel the need to come here to tell us
Buddy
Guest
My own mini protest tonight was to not wear club colours. I don’t believe the club is supporting the fans so show a sign that we do not approve by not wearing red and black - but still turn up!
Buddy
Guest
When the RBB are present and a goal is scored, players run over and celebrate with that section of supporters - never anywhere else. At the end of the game they stand in front, sing and chant “who do we sing for” and they hug and shake hands and take selfies etc. From that I suggest that the club/players love the whole adulation/support but perhaps it is just that the hiearchy wants the relationship purely on its own terms. “Wanted, several thousand persons to purchase season tickets and as many away game tickets as possible. Persons must be willing to sing and chant for the full 90 minutes. Also, in their own time make banners, tifos, create new songs and ensure they know all the words. Banners and Tifos must be G rated and must not use any profanities, neither shall they depict any person associated with the game in a negative fashion. Drawings must not contain any nudity nor be suggestive. Tifos will not be approved if they make an adult or child feel threatened, nor shall they make any claim that the club is powerful or that another club is less powerful or not masculine. Persons attending must actively support the mangement of the club and its representaives and shall at all times respect the governing body FFA and its representatives and must not depict anything negative in relation to anyone holding a position within the governing body. Persons deciding to join up should be prepared to read the full terms and conditions and are reminded that whilst it is acceptable for players to utter profanities in frustration or to show dissent, the penalty for a supporter making a similar uttering shall be that they are removed from the stadium, have membership revoked and will receive a ban from entering all stadiums for several seasons at least.”
Buddy
Guest
That just won’t happen for many reasons that are quite difficult to put into a cohesive piece against an article like this. In short, for the club to be a juggernaut and to attract sponsors etc and to become big it requires a mix of sponsors and fans. After all, the sponsors are always pushing products to the fans. At WSW you are bombarded with promotions from NRMA, Pepper Money and the like. You need a strong groundswell of support to takr up the offers etc. Right now the support is really split. There are many non active that support the RBB and plenty that don’t or only on certain terms. However, one of the main comments ever made by anyone going to WSW is the noise of the active support - it is relentless irrespective of how well or badly the team is doing and that has set it apart from many other groups - there is even a club endorsed mini-RBB and plenty of young kids are attracted to the singing and the noise. Without it, the place is morgue like as was the case tonight and there were many people in the bay where I was suggesting that if it is going to be like this, it just isn’t worth coming. Even with a small crowd tonight and no RBB the policing and stewarding was over the top. The stadium holds 85000 or thereabouts and I witnessed a few people trying to sit together after the game had started and they obviously had tickets for different areas and were prevented by security even though there were rows of empty seats. The police arrived on the scene and immediately marched someone out of the place although he did reappear later. Divide and conquer is not a sound policy.
Virgil Starkwell
Guest
Your first paragraph sums it up perfectly. So many.
realfootball
Guest
True.
Waz
Roar Rookie
The other thing I should have mentioned is the ffa have been holding off fifa for 7 years and knew this year was the year to win or lose that battle which has consumed a lot of their time.
Midfielder
Guest
There is a difference between breaking the law, add often some form of intimidation as the sort Real posted about, and an over zealous police force and stadium security. The RBB IMO do themselves no favours when they appear to defend all RBB behaviour ... However as waz has pointed out there are real concerns pertaining to over the top policing and security which can in turn lead to over reactions by home ends. Its worth for the sake of it considering official police training and thinking which is passed down to private security. Police training looks at crowds all crowds as possible trouble.... crowds & mobs have particular characteristics and certain behavioural swings in behaviour... two fears of police training is physical injury to a persons or a number of persons and property damage. Experience and analysis is made of each crowd.... and while all crowds can get out of control some are more prone than others. Essentially police believe if a crowd gets out of control then as I said physical injury or property damage can occur. So they on purpose over react in an attempt to stop a crowd getting out of control.... Where does this leave Football groups like say RBB compared to the Cove. .... both sign and chant all night... both have internal fights... Both get treated poorly by police and stadium management one worst than the other and only one holds itself to be some kind of out there we make our own rules... This is not excuse but sometimes its worth understanding the police point of view and thats where the answer lies.