The FFA vs The Active Fans – It’s not a war

A vast overreaction or are fans being treated with contempt by the FFA?

Depending on whom you ask you will receive various different responses.  The FFA haven’t been on the Christmas card list of many active support areas for a while now, and seemed to have pushed themselves further against the fans in today’s measures.

Damien de Bohun doesn’t understand football fans according to most on social media today, he appears to be driving a wedge and creating an ‘Us and Them’ environment.  ‘Us’ being those carrying a membership of an A-League club, ‘Them’ the casual supporter either wanting to dip their toe in the domestic football water, or  just wanting to be involved in something their friends are part of.

The new measures were announced for the start of the 2014/15 season.

De Bohun stated “We want fans to be able to create the best atmosphere and in conjunction with clubs and stadium managers we will give the fans certainty over their activities”.  So is the best atmosphere restricting club members only to the ‘active’ supporter areas of the 10 clubs across the league?  Only those in the active groups will be qualified to answer this?  Active support provides a unique experience to sporting events in the country.  We don’t have cheer squads or cheer leaders with pom poms to motivate our players or hoards of fans, we have bays singing, chanting and supporting their team for the entire 90 minutes.  Active support is a major part of our game, and we cannot afford to lose it, in only our 10^th season of the league.

On the other side of the coin we did experience some unruly fan behaviour over the 2013/14 season, and some clubs have a chequered history with certain opposition groups.  A high Police and Security presence was very notable and almost overbearing at specific games over the course of last season.  When incidents occur clubs and fans are quick to play the ‘casual supporter’ card when talking about the minority of fans who had ruined the match day experience for others, with their overt acts, some of a criminal nature.

Fans have the right to attend matches in a safe environment, it shouldn’t matter if you are a young family of five, a 17 year old active supporter or a 45 year casual supporter you should attend the game to enjoy the experience, and what our domestic league has to offer.

Clubs, Fans and the FFA must be accountable for their actions at games.  The league is looking to address this issue.  The majority of ‘anti social’ behaviour (or whatever you want to call it) happens in or around the various active ends or involving the major supporter groups around the league.  This isn’t a jibe at these groups, it’s the reality of Australian football.  The FFA is looking to take this measure because it will be easier to identify perpetrators if or when an incident occurs.  Measures could then be taken by the clubs if the individual is a member of the club.  Only this season an Essendon member was identified for racial abuse and his membership was rescinded.  The AFL and club were able to take swift action and received praise by various media and members of the public for their ability to solve the issue so quickly.  This can only be a good thing for anyone attending a sporting event.

More accountable fans will be a better thing for the league, but only if the league manages this in a way that is suitable for all parties.  If fans feel like we are intimidated by security at a stadium they will vote with their feet and leave in droves.  Australian football cannot afford this.

This is an issue that must be treated in the correct manner by all stakeholders.  The league mustn’t take its fans for granted, but the fans must understand where the league is coming from with the introduction of these new measures.

Football fans in Australia aren’t hooligans, and we mustn’t be seen as that.  We should all be able to attend the game for the individual experience we want to achieve, and leave the game happier for this experience.

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