Even if you believe ethnicity isn’t relevant to supporting football, or think active support is for fans who don’t really care about what’s happening on the field, the string of recent decisions made by the Football Federation of Australia should still concern you deeply. Bizarre in nature, they have revealed a disposition that panders to an unsustainable audience of non-football fans, in a way that alienates those of us who are fans of the sport. I have previously expressed my cynicism towards the instinct for football fans to get up in arms by everything that inhibits them even slightly. Is it the football, or something else that they value? But even the most cynic of football fans can not ignore the underlying and hugely worrying issue at hand. This World Cup has been immensely enjoyable, the talk of the town, and the Socceroos have performed admirably. Where some corporations might choose to ride this wave of good-will, and even build upon it, the FFA have identified this time as a perfect opportunity to provoke, anger and turn away Australian football fans. Australia’s national footballing body have attempted to capitalise on hype surrounding the World Cup in two ways; firstly, to slide [...]