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OT: Association Football

Suitman

Post Whore
Messages
54,908
Yep.
Internet dickhead of the week.
That takes some beating with Phantom Bart around.
You should be proud.
 

Suitman

Post Whore
Messages
54,908
BTW Twiz, here's another player who commented about the fan's protests.

McKay says players stand with fans over protests

Professional Footballers Association President Matt McKay has insisted the players support A-League fans in regards to their recent protests.

Speaking at the 2015 PFA Annual General Meeting today in Melbourne the Brisbane Roar captain addressed fellow A-League and W-League players.

“The past week has presented challenges for the game to address. The players are firm in their support of the fans and the players must stand with them,” McKay said.

“The fans make the A-League the competition what it is today and the players support them in ensuring their rights and interests are protected.

“Fans of the A-League are the best of any sport in Australia. They make players proud to play football in Australia.”

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2015/11/30/mckay-says-players-stand-fans-over-protests
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
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84,160
Suitman said:
They were actually worse behaved when they were winning before.
One thing is for sure though, ESFC fans are quieter since the Wanderers have been winning again.

Suity

What a load of shit Suity. The ones who want to put shit on the Wanderers are still doing so (and these are soccer haters rather than fans of any rival club). And if Sydney FC fans are quiet it's because our own club is doing poorly, much like your own silence of the past year.
 

Twizzle

Administrator
Staff member
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150,734
I prefer it when Bling FC suck, much like the Mariners current form.

Spurs however....
 

Suitman

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Messages
54,908
Best article yet..........

OPINION: Kicking Up A Stink




Beyond the usual smell of fear, something stinks about the whole Name and Shame Debacle.



From the FFA’s confusing backflips on whether or not banned fans have a right of appeal – and how unjust it’s prepared to let that process be – to the foul name-calling from every side, it stinks.



It stinks of hypocrisy, it stinks of envy from rival codes who can only dream of such active support… and it inevitably stinks of conspiracy and complacency.



It came in the week when it was revealed the SCG was now an official NSW Police-listed “most violent venue” because of the hooliganism of AFL, NRL, rugby and cricket fans.



Thanks to their thuggery, the SCG and Allianz was one of the worst trouble-spots in the state for drunken violence.




image: http://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/s...ublic/troygrant_2015-nov-27.jpg?itok=MadgoPCu


In the past financial year, 12 incidents involved police at either venue. There were four at NRL games, three at the cricket, two at rugby matches and two at AFL fixtures.



But despite football being the biggest crowd-puller to the venue complex over the course of the year, only once was there a violent incident involving soccer. Once.



To recap - the other codes had 11 times more violent incidents than soccer… yet football fans are the pack animals, thugs and louts (and even “just like the Paris terrorists” according to one talkback host, illustrating again his vile insensitivity.)



The list of banned A-League fans was apparently shopped around several NRL journos until Rebecca Wilson bit and ran with it, ultimately overshadowing the SCG announcement which would have blotted the reputation of the other codes.



Yet rugby league fans are so unpredictable, one club has called in a terrorism expert to help protect their players from ISIS - and their own code’s supporters.




image: http://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/s...inline-image/public/terrror.jpg?itok=CeI_MQsw


Security chief Andrew Cook has been hired to help Manly Sea Eagles and last week he told News Ltd: “Terrorism is at the top scale but there are general risks that involves sporting teams.”



Sea Eagles football manager Charlie Haggett warned Nine Network of potential security threats everywhere, including aggressive supporters.



“You’ve only got to imagine a disgruntled supporter punching one of the players in the face and breaking a nose,” he said. “It’s a real issue these days we need to be on top of.”



But police sometimes seem unwilling to crack down on rugby league fans in the same way as they do in the A-League.



The leak came after a bitter public row between NSW Police Association and senator David Leyonhjelm who insisted the policing of A-League games was wholly disproportionate to the threat posed and offences committed by fans.




image: http://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/s...ot_2015-11-30_at_9.02.14_pm.png?itok=NLBJIbgV


(Coincidentally, the NSWPA - who branded Wanderers fans "grubs" - were among the first official bodies to Tweet a link to Rebecca Wilson’s article in the Sunday Telegraph on the morning it was published.)



This weekend again saw huge legions of paramilitary-style cops in a massive show of strength in Melbourne with a vast police operation, which Melbourne Victory will have to pick up the bill for.



image: http://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/s...public/rileybev_2015-nov-28.jpg?itok=dvWBdFtd

Despite the intimidating, deliberately confrontational atmosphere created, there was no trouble.




In September though, cops clashed violently in a fistfight with Canterbury Bulldogs fans in an incident caught on video… but no-one was arrested “because it wasn't appropriate,” according to Detective Superintendent Gavin Dengate at the time.



A few months earlier, “eight to ten” Bulldogs fans were set to be banned for life, the club said, for their part in another brawl that saw two men arrested and left a club official with a broken arm.



Fast forward to August and there was this brutal video of more Bulldogs fans fighting on a train, then spilling onto the platform and kicking a teenage girl repeatedly in the head.











And that’s just one club, over just a few months.



I have no idea if Bulldogs are better or worse than any other club or code but while the high-minded rhetoric went on about football fans, a claim was made that rival codes had banned just 19 fans in total, across all sports, compared to 198 in the A-League.




image: http://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/s...es/inline-image/public/bull.jpg?itok=ThAcs6K7


That tells me three things - that other codes are not as intensely policed as the A-League, that it’s far harder to get banned than in the A-League (remember the 8-10 Bulldogs fans facing a life ban, plus the 11 non-football bashings around the SCG? That’s 19 alone, right there) …and that the FFA has an itchy trigger finger when it comes to bans.



More importantly, A-League fans are unable to defend themselves against any allegations made against them, unable to see the evidence against them and unable to appeal any miscarriages of justices.



That actually is the plot of dystopian nightmare novel, The Trial by Franz Kafka. FFA’s sense of justice is literally Kafka-esque.



The FFA defended its record as a responsible governing body by pointing to the long list of names on the banned list as proof it takes security seriously and has acted appropriately to try to stamp out antisocial behaviour.




image: http://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/s.../public/20151129-img_1140_0.jpg?itok=vQ4lHKEC


And they have – but in the process, they killed the great Australian sense of a fair go. It takes a tragedy to unite rival fans, and the death of fair play brought A-League fans together like never before.



Some of those on that list have probably committed offences that earned them a justified ban. Few if any though have ever been charged, or even arrested. Almost none have ever been in court, never mind convicted. Despite the jaundiced headlines, these fans are not criminals… and many were innocent altogether, while some were under the age of 18.



None of them has been able to challenge their ban. And all of them have been tarred with the same brush, whether they were allegedly involved in a violent clash or simply fell onto the pitch in an over exuberant goal celebration.



The publication, the condemnation, the lack of support from the FFA and the utterly unjust banning process it exposed was the final straw.



After years of being herded like cattle and treated as a necessary evil by a governing body wanting to sell the game’s unique atmosphere to corporate partners, A-League fans dropped the mic and walked out.




image: http://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/s.../public/20151129-img_1205_2.jpg?itok=6n4VQ8ad


Stadiums fell silent. The A-League suddenly became a Sunday league where you could hear the players’ shouts and the coaches’ orders and a dog barking somewhere in the distance.



This is your future, FFA.



Selling your fans out – the ONLY people in the stadium not paid to be there – is not a viable business plan.



By all means stay tough on offenders, but be transparent. Institute a fair and just process of implementing bans and allow fans to defend themselves with access to the evidence against them.




image: http://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/s...lic/tomicuric22_2015-nov-30.jpg?itok=5Zckdz7D


Damien De Bohun twisting and turning in the wind, apparently changing appeals policy from one day to the next, reassured nobody – and even on Sunday when he did apparently finally promise on live TV to introduce a formal appeal, it still required the accused to prove their innocence, rendering the entire process meaningless.



You can retain control over who does and doesn't go to your games without having to be a Stalinist dictatorship that operates above the law and without scrutiny.



It may be time-consuming and even costly, but that’s your contract with fans. It’s actually a two way street – you can’t just take their money and treat them like vermin.



And next time someone takes potshots at your prime stakeholders, don’t hesitate to defend them. To do otherwise complacently takes the fans for granted.



Until they fix it, the system stinks – and fans will increasingly smell it for the bullshit it is...

Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/au/news/opinion-kicking-stink#9V76MobXDXGq6zlS.99

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/au/news/opinion-kicking-stink#:TPUdGhEcKya0qA
 

Gary Gutful

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Messages
51,727
Big spaces between sentences.




They are all the rage at the moment.




Just thought I'd get in on the act.
 

Suitman

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Messages
54,908
When you walk out of the tunnel and hear the crowd roar the hair on the back of your neck stands up. Your senses heighten. Eyes widen. Ears deafened by the passion of people who want you to play football for them.

There's nothing like it in the world. It's a rush, it's addictive and you can't get enough of it.

When the stadium is full it's like it's alive. It seethes and writhes, it has a beat, a breath and a pulse.

1449031111271.jpg
Unhappy: Melbourne Victory fans have been annoyed by the FFA's treatment of supporter groups. Photo: Quinn Rooney

Around the world football makes stadiums come to life like no other game. Fans take this game seriously. It's life and death. It defines cities and towns and divides them. Passion, intense passion, heady evocative and playful passion, pushes players to greater heights in the colosseum's of football.

When we were kids, we thought the only way you could get some of that would be to go to Europe or South America.

The greatest crowds have defined their clubs and the sport in those countries. Liverpool and its supporters in the Kop are iconic symbols of the club and European football more broadly as are Borrusia Dortmund's fans who create an unrivaled atmosphere.

1449031111271.jpg
Passionate fan base: The Wanderers fans have been out in force in recent years. Photo: Getty Images

To rival the league's around the world and to emulate their success we need to rival them in the stands.

A-League fans understand this. They don't sit idly by enjoying a match like you would watch a movie, they participate.

Other sports are envious and jealous.

1449031111271.jpg
Standing up: Central Coast Mariners fans protested with a silent offering in the game against Western Sydney.Photo: Ashley Feder

They create an atmosphere that has propelled the A-League forward and one that is unique and the envy of the other codes. This must be cherished, celebrated and safeguarded.

The PFA's Australian Premier League model, which was fundamental in reforming the game, identified the fans as the game's most important stakeholder. It highlighted the importance of creating a competition that allowed the fans to truly embrace the game.

The fans have embraced the A-League. They continue to turn up in record numbers. Membership records continued to be smashed season after season, with players now witnessing passion and dedication to a level that seemed like a dream a little over 10 years ago.

However, the past week has shown there are a number of challenges that confront the game. They must be addressed if the fans are to continue drive the progress of the A-League.

Fans make the A-League what it is today. Their relationship with the game must be much more than a transaction. The passion that has powered the A-League for the past 10 years can't be sustained unless the fans feel that their relationship is a genuine one. They must feel their voices are heard and valued otherwise the A-League's most important commodity is at risk and as the result the very future of the game becomes uncertain.

It is for these reasons and many more, that we, the players, stand with the fans and offer our full support in the actions they choose to pursue in protecting their rights and interests.

Australian football can overcome the challenges that it faces. We only need to look at our history to see our ability to overcome adversity. However, we must first re-establish the same unity of purpose of that has enabled the game to progress over the past 10 years.

The players will continue to provide the same support to the fans they give us. Their relationship with the game is a unique and one that we can't do without.

We need more fans not less. We need more passion and more power for our fans. They need a greater role in the game. They need to be treated as critical stakeholders who deserve respect.

Without them, we lose the meaning of football and the reason to play.

Ante Covic is vice-president of Professional Footballers Australia

http://www.westsydneyfootball.com/topic/6277-football-the-media-201516/page-163
 
Last edited:

bartman

Immortal
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41,022
Suity's article said:
The players will continue to provide the same support to the fans they give us.
So the players are going to walk off at the 30min mark now? :lol:

Or maybe the players will not even bother turning up? :lol:

This soccer "drama" is funnier than any of its protaganists imagine :-({|=

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