Amidst the smouldering wreckage of what was undoubtedly the A-League’s darkest hour, the game’s administrators somehow need to find some answers if the competition is to survive.
The utterly disgraceful scenes we witnessed in the Melbourne Derby at AAMI Park on Saturday night must be condemned in the strongest terms possible.
There is no justification whatsoever for fans entering the field of play. Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover might have inadvertently returned a flare in the direction of the Melbourne Victory fans, but Victory supporters are at fault for lobbing it on the pitch in the first place.
We can’t call those who assaulted Glover football fans though. They are anti-social criminals who use football matches as a vehicle to commit senseless acts of violence.
That’s an important point to acknowledge, even if the outcome remains the same – it will be genuine football fans who suffer the repercussions.
We already saw that on Sunday when New South Wales police allegedly confiscated a drum from Macarthur’s active supporters in Campbelltown.
But the first thing that should happen on the back of Saturday night’s abysmal scenes – aside from criminal charges – is the dismantling of the northern terrace’s supporter group, Original Style Melbourne.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 17: A bleeding Tom Glover of Melbourne City is escorted from the pitch by team mates after fans stormed the pitch during the round eight A-League Men’s match between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park, on December 17, 2022, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Twice this season OSM have been involved in serious incidents, and twice they have dismally failed to acknowledge the consequences of their own actions – offering mealy-mouthed post-match statements that read like they were written by the sort of pathetically self-entitled juveniles most of them are.
It’s time for OSM to go. Whatever ‘passion’ they might offer on the terraces is completely irrelevant when self-styled hooligans sprint from within their midst to attack rival players.
Those apprehended will invariably be served with lifetime bans, but given that some of the alleged assailants were already reported to be serving such bans, you have to wonder how much of a hindrance that really is.
Some other questions must be asked. Not least around what exactly it was that both security personnel and Victoria Police were doing when the rogue Victory supporters were storming the pitch.
Not for the first time in the A-League, we saw security forces form a cordon AFTER the damage had already been done.
Had they been lulled into a false sense of security by the suggestion that Victory fans would simply walk out after 20 minutes? The fact that at least one of the pitch invaders was wearing a pair of football boots suggests this was all pre-meditated.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 17: Fans storm the pitch in protest during the round eight A-League Men’s match between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park, on December 17, 2022, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
And while there is a world of difference between a peaceful boycott and the scenes of anarchy we saw on Saturday, we can’t forget what instigated this entire mess in the first place.
The Australian Professional Leagues’ decision to sell the next three grand finals to Sydney is the most ham-fisted move we’ve ever encountered in the A-League.
First we were told it was to lock in a guaranteed venue, then it was to start ‘new traditions,’ before finally it transpired that the deal actually came about because the APL is skint.
It’s a disastrous look for APL chief executive Danny Townsend, and it’s hard to imagine what the A-Leagues’ broadcaster Paramount thinks of all this.
Some serious questions should be asked of Townsend’s stewardship in the wake of this latest debacle, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the bigger picture.
Because like clockwork, the usual ‘I hate sokkah’ brigade came out in force, emboldened by Saturday’s shambolic scenes to declare their undying hatred for this most un-Australian of sports.
We have a handful of boneheaded morons from the Victory home end to thank for that.
Sponsors, broadcasters and countless fans will no doubt be questioning whether they want to remain involved with the league as well.
People like Tom Glover and referee Alex King – who deserves some kind of bravery award – should be able to carry out their jobs unhindered by lunatics from the stands.
The A-League has hit rock bottom. It’s a long way back from here.
What the game needs now is some genuine leadership from our highly-paid administrators to help steer us out of this self-made mess.
Grem
Roar Rookie
https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/dragons-player-junior-amone-in-police-custody-over-alleged-hammer-attack/news-story/f38f571fd191f2565355c194c8221638?amp. There is no defence of what happened at the football on the weekend – it was disgusting and needs to be cleaned up, but is this what you mean Punter? Just today, and these stories about NRL players will continue regularly, as they always have and always will, an NRL player attacked a person with a hammer. Will they condemn the code and say things like – I will never attend that awful game of rugby league again because of these hammer attacks, etc.
Nifty Nick
Guest
The A-league should never have been relinquished by the FA for the APL to run. The decline would never have occurred under Frank Lowy's watch. Importantly the A-league benefited from tv deals on the back of being packaged with the Socceroos, the latter now being flavor of the month. Its clear the running is beyond the APL whose self interest suggests a conflict of interest. The FA need to take back the A-league in house. If it doesn't then at least every team should have a voice on the APL board.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Families do attend. The biggest demographic is females with 1-2 kids (no dads), the second biggest demographic is 50+ The problem demographic is getting males 18 to 30 to attend games.
matth
Roar Guru
That’s just wrong Waz. Attendances have been falling. Families don’t attend is great numbers. The sport is becoming males aged 18 to 30. You’ll end up with unsustainable attendance figures. Parents won’t introduce kids to the live sport. There isn't 100 years of tradition in ALM to bring in rusted on generational fans regardless of the mess in the active support areas. You are back to the ‘true fans’ only, who want to cause trouble at the football, which cannot sustain a top level national sport. All of this has been steadily happening way before these two incidents (GF move and crowd trouble)
Cameron Handley
Roar Rookie
started off alright, and then we inevitably skewed off to the 'APL is to blame' rhetoric.
Cameron Handley
Roar Rookie
if the APL had a dollar for every parroted 'football is for the fans' tweet this week, they wouldn't be so broke.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
I think it’s fair to raise some serious questions over the APL’s leadership so far.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Go to You tube, focus on football games in Serbia, Greece, Turkish & you will see why.
nics
Roar Rookie
Don't need to apologise for anyone. People can sort out the wheat from the chaff.
Nico
Roar Rookie
The comments about "forging new traditions" with the A-League's Sydney gf debacle were pretty hard to stomach. The A-League, hearkening back to its NSL roots, was the first national competition with a floating grand final, which is essential Australian football's own tradition of a truly national competition, which the game's administrators have utterly failed to grasp. But this shouldn't surprise - since the start of the A-League football's 100+ year history in Australia has been given little to any of the respect is deserves. The extent to which the NRL's stubborn approach to having a Sydney-only gf ruffles the feathers of QLD supporters should have been duly noted by A-League officials - the NRL (and AFL for that matter) can perhaps only do it because of lengthy traditions of a Sydney /Melbourne based gf. They also gave zero thought towards how they could placate the inevitability p'od fans from outside NSW who will now no longer be able to see their team win a home grand final (perhaps a promise of more Socceroos/Matildas fixtures) not to mention any real reason why Sydney should be seen as the spiritual home of Aussie football to host the gf in perpetuity to start with, other than the bottom line
nics
Roar Rookie
What is this "daily vilification of masculinity" you speak of? Is it the reporting of alleged sexual assaults, domestic violence or violent crime? Are you saying that this reporting causes men to lose their heads and throw flares and bash a player? How sensitive must their masculinity be.
Para+Ten ISUZU Subway support Australian Football
Roar Rookie
Bring on the Women's World Cup.
Garry
Roar Rookie
I apologise for TSS, he has issues - he doesnt reply to me anymore because I question his high opinion of himself.. :happy:
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
Off you go then - send your resume in! Let us know how you go…
Waz
Roar Rookie
All the things you’ve listed may keep you away from the sokkha, and many others no doubt but they’re not high on the list of reasons not to attend football for football supporters. If you want a non-sporting analogy: I don’t stay away from Fortitude Valley just because fights break out frequently, people do drugs, and drink driving is a regular occurrence. Of course I would rather that wasn’t going on, but if doesn’t stop me going. Same with what you’ve listed: I don’t want flares, chants, violence, pitch invasions, objects thrown but it doesn’t stop me going. Forcing the top team to play away from home in a Grand Final, potentially away at the home ground of a team that finished below them on the ladder … that’s done it for a lot of fans: me included It’s not fair. No one asked for it. No one was consulted over it. It kills the Grand Final as a spectacle. It removes passion from that game. Many fans have walked away over this, some have returned memberships, plenty have cancelled Paramount+ in protest (myself include). That was all before Saturdays events. So yeah, it’s the administrators I can accept that you may not like flares etc but lets be honest …. if it wasn’t that it would be something else for you: the diving or the low scoring games, it’s the sokkha after all, right?
Waz
Roar Rookie
“ Make the club play behind closed doors or away from home” You mean … like in a Grand Final :laughing:
Waz
Roar Rookie
I don’t know. I think it’s cultural (southern European countries have them en mass).
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
Again though, the current model is commonplace elsewhere in the world. The major Euro leagues all self manage independent of their national association, it works just fine in the NBA, NFL, NHL & MLB, and I would argue that the league actually belongs to the clubs, they are joint shareholders. FA doesn’t own it, the clubs do. It maybe that the current group of owners are too small time, although even there that doesn’t apply to MC. It does seem odd that only five clubs have reps on the board, it really should be one rep from each club. Have the FA rep as Chairman. Trust me as an NRL fan, you don’t want independent board members making decisions, you’ll end up with a bunch of ex politicians and woke SJW’s running the game.
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
But what’s the fascination or significance of a flare at a football game ?
David V
Guest
"This country’s well of competent sports administrators is very shallow" Word. Football and rugby league are two sports whose survival and ability to be in the limelight (for good reasons or not) is entirely despite the people running them, not because of them!