Recent security incidents have put fan policing back in the spotlight. Fans online have been vocal about their negative experiences, football bodies have put out statements and active groups have even announced protest actions. We’ve been here before in the A-League, and we’ve also been here before in the NSL. This time though I hope the football community has learnt from past experiences and is better able to focus its efforts to solve the issue.
There are allegations of not just over policing, but deliberately antagonistic security administration. Inhibitive measures including visible riot squads and armed police in large numbers can make fans feel ashamed when attending games. These measures can also create a tense atmosphere and potentially even lead to incidents at stadiums. However rather than the public discussing how the stadium experience can be improved, fans themselves have gone under the spotlight.
No one is safe from media influence
The mainstream media has a long track record of villainising fans and stroking broader fear when incidents occur. The impacts of this narrative are long lasting and insidious. Even A-League fans themselves are not immune to media fearmongering, as exemplified in many online conversations about the old NSL. Many A-League social media hubs are rife with comments about the NSL’s ethnic violence despite the facts that half of the NSL wasn’t ethnically aligned, half of the inaugural A-League teams had NSL roots and the A-League itself has experienced a comparable number of fan incidents over its time. In order to address the current issues about security discourse, we need to recognise that we are all at risk of being influenced by it. The football community needs to rethink its own narratives to understand the best way we can redirect the new one.
As shown with Football’s internal fracture, the impact of media narratives can cut deep and have long lasting effects. In this instance A-League fans themselves are suffering decades of negativity about their own conduct, just as NSL fans did. Although xenophobia isn’t as explicitly intertwined in the narrative, the net impact of the media story has been similar. New fans are less likely to jump on board, sponsors are less likely attach their names to clubs, and then this general public sentiment actually assists the justification of alleged over policing efforts. This all directly impacts fan experiences.
So what should the narrative be?
It’s time to shift the spotlight off the fans and that starts with the language used in these conversations. Incidents do happen, sometimes even serious ones, but rather than tie the majority of fans to the incident we should be addressing the specifics. This call response changes the narrative, for example:
Headline: Football Fan Violence
Response: Only the minority of fans involved
Versions of this conversation dynamic have been played out for years. This forced general fans to justify their own existence and makes them appear guilty until proven innocent – well enough is enough! Out community needs to change this dynamic. Take this example:
Headline: Assault at Stadium
Response: Perpetrator detained
This version can apply to the same incident as the first example, but it turns the attention on incident itself and the actions. This is how many other sports report incidents. For example after big Rugby League, Aussie Rules and Crickets games the police confirm the numbers of people arrested they don’t blast the entire fan culture.
Football naturally has a different character due to the unified nature of its supporters at games, however when the community responds to these incidents by attempting to justify itself it actually pulls its culture into question. Fans as a result have seen their rights taken away. Groups have been denied the right present tifos, banners, and had flags taken away. Efforts from security can even include trying to break up fans by locking out active areas of the ground like at Macarthur. This comes to the core of what I think the conversation needs to focus on – what aspects of the football experience are Police, Security and Stadiums failing to deliver, and then, how can we resolve this?
The administrators need to be put under the spotlight in the first instance of any conversation about this issue. When a bank is robbed, its other customers ask why security measures failed, they don’t claim innocence! When an incident at an A-League game occurs the same approach needs to be put under the spotlight.
So here are my questions from the weekend…
Why is VENUES NSW unable to keep the RBB in their paid seats? Are they unable to deliver a good stadium experience?
Why are the POLICE unable to oversee the Den’s march without attracting social media attention? Are they unable to deliver a peaceful service?
Why are STADIUM SECURITY removing the banners held up the child fans of Macarthur? Are they, and the local council unwilling to support kids expressing themselves in their local community?
The current discussions appear more refined than the past but at face value they still place the entire A-League at the centre of the issue. Well none of the A-League Women’s games had issues. Half of the A-League Men’s games had no issues. Despite this, an unengaged observer will read the headlines AND the responses from football people, and think the whole game is in turmoil!
As football fans and commentators we have the power to frame the conversation. If focused on the right issues we can actually have flow on impacts that improve our experiences at games. Police staffing, stadium negotiating ability and security training may be out of our direct hands, as is the mainstream media, but our comments and engagement can shift the story which will then impact the things outside of our control.
We don’t need to profess innocence. We don’t need to justify the game’s culture.
No one should be made to feel a criminal when attending sport in Australia, but it appears Venues NSW and Stadiums Queensland is failing to deliver a good experience. It is these stakeholders which need to be put under the spotlight when they fail the fans.
This week some active fans had a terrible experience when they did nothing wrong. Suncorp Stadium failed. Western Sydney Stadium failed. Campbelltown Stadium failed. Security and Police failed.
Put their names in the headlines and in your comments first and not fan conduct.
The Beautiful Game 