Monday 25 April 2016

Trouble Every Day - South Melbourne 1 Melbourne Victory Youth 0

Nick Epifano puts his body on the line. Photo: Cindy Nitsos.
Like the midweek game against Altona Magic, this was one of those games where we had little to gain other than the win. In the cup game, it was because we were playing a team two divisions below us; yesterday, because we were playing a youth squad of an A-League franchise, one that after a good start to the season has started trailing off and begun flirting with the relegation zone.

Aside from being top of the table playing against a side holding few expectations, there was also the spectre of it being a South Melbourne vs Melbourne Victory game. So even if the opposition we were facing was at best a proxy form of a 'rival' we've never played and may well never play in a meaningful match (except perhaps in an FFA Cup match), there was a sort of 'edge' to this game for reasons beyond the three points on offer.

That we came racing out of the blocks like a bunch of Andy Brennans was both pleasing and worrying, because one knew what one of the consequences of that would be. So while I'm sure we were all glad to see the necessary intensity on display, the fade out in the last 15 minutes or so saw us crawl instead of dash to the finish line, giving Victory's talented youngsters more opportunities towards the end of the game to snare an equaliser.

Milos Lujic makes a somewhat ambitious appeal for a penalty, as he
tumbles over Victory's keeper Spinella. Photo: Dion Fountas.
In a very free flowing game - the officials seemed to prefer to see play continue, letting play run where other referees may have stopped play - we played a high line, and generally played it well enough to catch the visitors offside on countless occasions, including one occasion which otherwise would have resulted in a goal.

But the real story of the game was the huge amount of missed chances by us. We hit the woodwork probably three or four times, had shots fly agonizingly wide or high, and saw ourselves occasionally second guessing ourselves. I'm going to put it down to the implied (or is that inferred?) pressure of the occasion. Symptomatic of that wasteful play in the final third was the People's Champ, who otherwise had a good game, but whose shooting was dire.

After getting injured during the pre-match warm up against Altona Magic midweek, Kristian Konstantinidis was absent again yesterday, with Tim Mala playing at right back, and having one of his best games for a long time. Otherwise the team was more or less back to its usual early season look sans Iqi Jawadi, with Marcus Schroen and Matthew Millar both starting, and Leigh Minopoulos coming off the bench. Jawadi wasn't missed in this game as much as he has been in others, as the youth of our opponents saw even the diminutive Mathew Theodore provide an effective hustling and bustling performance, with our superior strength being a major factor in the outcome and our dominance of general play.

Nick Epifano and Tim Mala square up to a Victory player towards
the end of the game. Photo: Dion Fountas
Despite a couple of moments towards the end of the match where Victory were able to line up shots from the edge of the box, South defended well at the end, albeit having visibly tired. After having five consecutive matches where an opposition player was red carded, it looked like we'd fail to make it to six until one of our boys - I think it was Minopoulos - was hacked down on the wing in front of the South bench. Somehow the offending Victory player only saw yellow, but that incident saw it become the turn of the players to get involved in a melee.

So after all that transpired yesterday, for the players and coaching staff at least there was the relief that we'd got the win and maintained our position of outright top spot for another week. For nearly everyone else, the result unfortunately withdrew into the background due to the rest of the evening's events.

Trumpet Troubles
Before we even got to the stage where the game was marred by the actions of the visiting Victory hooligans, Clarendon Corner had its own issues to deal with, with the trumpet (along with other instruments) apparently being banned for the match as part of an arrangement between South Melbourne, the State Sports Centres Trust, Melbourne Victory and the Northern Terrace. Silly organisers though forgot to tell the people closest to the trumpet - that being Clarendon Corner and its current trumpet player - that this was the case. So after about half an hour, and after the trumpet had already been played several times, we were informed that we were not allowed to play the trumpet as part of an agreement none of us had been privy to. This understandably upset the mood in Clarendon Corner, with some continuing to chant but others losing heart.

As far as I'm concerned though, the fact that the trumpet came up as part of security negotiations is little short of a betrayal of the history and culture of South Melbourne Hellas, and that would be the case even if we were consulted on the matter. The famous trumpet call has been a part of South Melbourne Hellas since Lefteri brought it with him from Greece in the late 1970s. Now that Lefteri is no longer at games, it has been played by Bruno for some years now, with another fan known as Stathi performing a vocalised version when Bruno is absent. It is the sound of our success. It is a link to Middle Park and to our storied past. It is arguably the most iconic tune and chant combination in Australian soccer, at club or national team level; so much so that when a Heart fan on their forum attempted to argue the case for using it as their own chant, he was quickly shut down by his fellow supporters. It is an indispensable and irreplaceable part of who we are. The actions of our board on this matter are not just a betrayal of those who stand in Clarendon Corner, but a betrayal of everything South Melbourne Hellas stands for. To their credit, the board seems to have admitted that they've cocked up in this matter big time - here's hoping that the trumpet never comes into question ever again at our home ground.

Soon enough however, the playing of a trumpet would become but a footnote to the genuinely criminal behaviour that was to follow.
Two Melbourne Victory hooligans a long way from the area of the
stadium designated for them on Sunday. Photo: Dion Fountas.

Where there's a will...
In the lead up to the game, there was a lot of talk around the place about how big the crowd would be. Some clearly went over the top and stated that we'd get 5,000, ignoring the fact that it was a Victory youth team and not their senior team; that it was a long weekend, with people possibly going away; that there were junior matches on; and that there was even an AFL match on between two Victorian sides which would overlap with our game (and which attracted an attendance of just under 60,000). There was also the fact that, apart from putting up notices on the security arrangements for this game, South had seemingly refused to promote the clash as in any way being a notable affair. At the other end of the scale, there were those who thought that the crowd would be fairly small, and in the end they were the ones proven right, with a crowd of probably just under a thousand, with about 750 in our stand and 250 in the other stand.

The segregation issue split the opinions of supporters on both sides, with those against it worrying about image, whether it was even worth it and in some cases thinking that no great amount of Victory supporters would attend, based on the small numbers which have attended NPL games involving Victory in 2016. This turned out to be half true. The overall Victory support was small, but they had enough active supporters to fill up the small bay closest to Gate 1, easily outnumbering the active support in Clarendon Corner, as one would expect. For most of the game up until the violence occurred, the two sides chanted without much incident (apart from the trumpet fiasco) or even focus on each other, except Victory at one stage chanting 'fuck South Melbourne'.

In the early part of the second half, several Victory fans in casual gear emerged in front of Clarendon Corner, attempting to steal one of more of the banners hanging on the fence on the stairwell. There was a theory that they had perhaps found a way to enter through the service gate in between the Hellas stand and the 1926 stand, but a more plausible theory seems to be that they exited the ground from their end at halftime, and then used pass-outs to re-enter the stadium via Gate 2. If this is the case, then there was clearly a failure by all those responsible for organising the event to set up different coloured pass-outs for the different parts of the ground. The other, most plausible possibility, is that the people responsible for kicking off the whole scenario had been in our stand incognito from kickoff.

The Victory supporters who attempted to steal the banner were engaged in battle by South fans from Clarendon Corner and other parts of our stand, with the South fans holding their own, thankfully receiving minimal injury - and as someone who abhors violence, avoids violence and has no talent for violence, this is not an attempt to seek some sort of vicarious glory; it's more a relief that none of our mates got seriously hurt. Apart from fists, Victory's supporters also threw cleaning products,
one of which, apparently a bottle of bleach, hit a small child. There were also several South fans taking photos and video footage, one of whom was spat at by a Victory supporter. Hopefully all those fans pass along their footage to the club (reports are that this is already happening).

The Victory supporters failed to take possession of the banner or banners they had attempted to steal. Security was incredibly slow to react to the brawl, adding further to the calls of some South supporters for South Melbourne to employ a security firm other than Blue Thunder. Later, after Blue Thunder boss Kosta walked past Clarendon Corner, he was jeered as both an outpouring of frustration with Blue Thunder stretching back some years now, as well as Blue Thunder's failure to properly and promptly deal with yesterday's brawl. While even competent and plentiful security can have problems with handling incidents like these if the scale of a riot becomes too large, so much of what passes for security at NPL venues is little more than security theatre - wholly appropriate with the crowds (and kinds of crowds) most clubs get, but lacking in effectiveness when something serious actually happens, or needs to be prevented.

As the fight continued, with Victory fans crossing over the concrete arc behind the western goal end to help their mates, emptying the bay they had occupied, the game paused for perhaps a minute, but then continued. The question then for me is how was the game not abandoned? Back in 2010 at the last game at the old Lakeside, when South fans invaded the field after Carl Recchia's late equaliser and interfered with Heidelberg's players, the referee on that day rightly abandoned the game. So again I ask, why not here, when the circumstances were far worse? Considering the fact that Victory fans were interfering with the normal operation of a game by kicking balls, dislodging and launching a corner flag (not new behaviour for them in the NPL), and that the ball boys had to scurry away, the fact that the game continued is astonishing to me.

Eventually the Victory fans responsible for the brawl and pitch invasion either left or were ordered to leave by security. A helicopter circled overhead for a bit, and police eventually arrived after everything had died down.
People were asked to spread the word that South fans would be kept behind after the game for ten minutes in an effort to avoid any other incidents after the game. Reports emerged after the game that the Victory hooligans had started vandalising cars in the car park that had South stickers on them. I don't know if this is true, nor how widespread it was if this did happen, but the car of one of South's photographers was reported as being among those vandalised.

We were fortunate enough to at least be able to let off some steam thanks to Milos Lujic's goal, which acted as a release valve for some of the tension

What's the punishment?
The calls for punishment have been coming on strong, even from among other Victory fans. The question is though what is the most appropriate punishment for those involved? For the individuals involved it seems clear cut - bannings all round. But will this include the South fans who were part of the brawl? Even if the court of public opinion is almost entirely on our side on this matter, that may not count for much at an FFV tribunal hearing. And if those involved from Victory's side of the matter include persons who have already been placed on FFA's ban list, then what good will another banning do? Is this where the effects of Lakeside's status of being included under the Major Events Act kicks in? Related to that, one wonders what FFV will make of the security arrangements at Lakeside and our responsibility for that. Again, the court of public opinion is one thing, FFV justice another.

Docking points from Victory's NPL youth side, whether fair or not, would be in line with punishments dealt to community run clubs at this level, as has been the case in recent times for Heidelberg, Sunshine George Cross and North Sunshine Eagles. And yet the Victory supporters who kicked off the violence yesterday probably couldn't give a toss about the fate of Victory Youth's 2016 NPL season. So does punishing those players actually make any difference? Does even a monetary penalty make a difference to such a profitable entity like Melbourne Victory? Is the appropriate course of action to actually target the senior team in the A-League? Not that NPL point deductions and fines are inappropriate in this instance, but a punishment for the senior team (which may have a suspended point sentence hanging over its head) may be the thing to push the public opinion of ordinary Victory supporters and Victory's hierarchy to finally disassociate themselves from these groups. It is perhaps wishful thinking.

Next round Victory's NPL squad are due to host Melbourne Knights at Epping Stadium. Again, without wishing to glory in or revel in such things, MCF - Knights' active support - have a far more fearsome reputation than Clarendon Corner. Epping Stadium, too, is far less capable of adequately hosting a match with these kinds of security concerns, both within the venue but also in its car park. One wonders if it will even be open to the public.

The failures before these failures
This is not the first violent or anti-social incident that this group of Victory fans has been involved in, especially when you broaden the scope to beyond these particular individuals to the overall history of this and related Melbourne Victory groups. There have been incidents at friendly games that Victory has been involved in at state league grounds. There have been incidents at National Youth League games. There have been incidents on the streets, and there have been at least three prior pitch invasions and/or corner flag thefts during Melbourne Victory NPL matches over the past year and a half.

A local, suburban club would not have been able to get away with these actions and would have faced sanctions directed at the club. Whatever has been done to prevent this kind of behaviour by this minority of Victory fans - and there would be plenty across the soccer fraternity that would say that not nearly enough has been done - it clearly has not done the trick. So, it's time for the governing bodies to stop pussy footing around with these groups. Acknowledge that there is a problem, that the problem can't be negotiated with - because negotiations for these types are a justification of their status - and deal with the problem once and for all.

It is a problem that has blighted Australian soccer for so long, but one which has only grown as the numbers of supporters have grown at the top level of soccer in this country. But because the sport is now mainstream, too many people have fallen into the trap of finding excuses for this kind of sordid behaviour, 'Oh, at least it's not ethnic anymore'. So what? So it was only the veneer of ethnicity that was the problem, and not the violence and anti-social behaviour? 'They're also AFL fans'. That may be so, but would they pull off such stunts at an AFL game? No, they act out in our game, making it our problem. 'They're not real football fans'. Well, they think they're football fans, they go to football matches - you may not like it, but they are part of football's supporter spectrum. 'Boys will be boys/you'd kill the atmosphere without them'. This is the lamest excuse of all, because it is here that we get people coming in to defend these hooligans who should know better. We've spoken about this many times before, but Mike Cockerill's apologetics are as good as example as any.

Perhaps the most incredible thing to come out of the incident, and maybe the match as a whole, is that no flares were lit - let alone tossed into the crowd - though people were packing them.
But what does it all mean?
The mere fact that Victory has a team playing at the NPL level creates a level of confusion about who and why someone would go out of their way to support this team, apart from friends and family of the players. Victory was set up in an era of 'one city, one team', meaning that by default and whether one consented or not, Victory was attempting to represent you as a Victorian soccer fan. Then Heart/City came along and muddied the waters somewhat, but the model was, at least on the surface of things, set up like this - two teams set up to appeal firstly to already existing soccer followers and participants in Melbourne. While there is and will be scope for attracting the more generalist sports fan, most of the A-League's support probably comes from people who are already keen soccer fans

An extreme and understandable reaction from many South supporters - including me yesterday, while the adrenaline was working its magic - is that if you wanted proof that simultaneously being both a South fan and a Victory fan was incompatible (at least in terms of those who had been South first), than you needed to look no further than the attitude of the Victory hooligans, both in their attempts to steal the banners and cause general mayhem, as well as the anti-South chants - and for those of a Greek background, add to that the allegations that there were racist comments directed to South Melbourne from some of Victory's supporters.

And yet, just like it wasn't fair to tar all supporters of ethnic clubs for the bad behaviour of a minority of supporters, so it also isn't fair to blame the majority of A-League fans for the bad behaviour of a minority of their fans. For those A-League fans who still bring up the ethnic violence after eleven years, those people are not even worth bothering with - they made up their minds long ago, and nothing will change. I think most A-League fans, many of whom also support state league clubs, are fully aware now if they weren't before that the 'ethnic violence' line is bullshit. Apart from a few more fringe and combustible elements online, most of the discussion about South, ethnic clubs and the A-League I think has come a long way. And let's not forget, for many South fans the dream (however unrealistic) is to get into the A-League and play against teams like Victory and Adelaide United and whoever else and be in situations where our supporters mingle and sit together throughout a stadium without issues.

There is also the question of the so called 'ethics' of being a casual fan. At least in terms of my understanding, it does not include attacking scarfers or people wearing colours - which includes almost all of Clarendon Corner. Beyond that though, why would they even bother? Apart from its own press releases, and occasional flashes of aspiration which have fizzled out as quickly as they started, South Melbourne has not been relevant to top-flight Australian soccer for over a decade. The supporter numbers are small, our future prospects for getting out of this league vague at best. Neither does Clarendon Corner have any serious reputation as some sort of brawling and scrapping machine. And yet these Victory hooligans thought it was worth their effort to try, despite the fact that many Victory supporters were or are still South Melbourne fans. Does it mean that the South name and a couple of small banners still mean something? And if so, what?

Melbourne Victory fans crossing over from the northern
stand towards the southern stand. Photo: Dion Fountas.
Various other comments and reactions
MFootball covered the game yesterday, and have provided an audio extract of their view of the brawl and Lujic's goal as the events unfolded. The 'Cold War' comment is also an interesting way of looking at the 'rivalry' between two clubs who have scarcely come close to playing each other.

Goal Australia is also reporting that FFV will be conducting an investigation.

If you want to read a simple and direct version of what happened, then I think it will be hard to go past SoccerLogic's post from this thread on FourFourTwo.
I was at the match and want to be clear. 
There were about 250 people watching on the Victory side. Families, general and active fans. There was a large number of active fans who clearly came just to look for trouble and they did. At half time their bay emptied and about 10 minutes into the second half they pulled off what was obviously a pre-planned move. Using passouts about 5-10 dickheads entered the south side and a little into the second half walked towards the South Active fans. The guys jumped the gun and went to nick the South banner, a South fan jumped into grab it back and then the Victory fans who snuck in jumped him. This was during play IN THE STADIUM. Victory active fans ran across the athletics track, some jumped the fence and started throwing punches, others ran to the side and threw anything they could find - bottles and cleaning supplies. 
There were kids as young as 5 in the South Active area and families the next bay over. After the match cars with South stickers were vandalised and the stadium was locked down for 10 minutes after the match while police searched the areas to secure the car park. 
The chanting between the two clubs was typical of a derby match. Every single week South's fans chant to 'score a fucking goal'. This is absolutely. entirely the fault of violent dickheads who claim to support Victory and the under staffed, under prepared security who let these thugs into the wrong stand without first asking to see a membership. 
These dickheads are going to cost the club a points deduction, a hefty fine and possibly see the team relegated - not to mention the prospect of locking out the remainder of Victory matches. It's not bad enough that the team's playing against men, they need to put up with these so called 'fans' to stay up in the NPL.
Ian Syson gave me a ring while I was being given a lift back to Sunshine station. This meant that we had to pause the Prince greatest hits compilation that we had playing on the radio, but Syson makes up for his unintentional gaffe with this tweet,
There was also some dark humour,
the absurd,
and South trending for the wrong reasons,
and an appearance on Channel 9 news which placed all the blame on the North Terrace, including video footage (shot in portrait instead of landscape). Twitter reactions, Dion Fountas' photos and MFootball's radio commentary. The segment also featured a short statement by Melbourne Victory, but nothing by South Melbourne (one has since been released - see comments section). Somewhat inexplicably, the segment showed no footage of the 2005 Preston game and its violent scenes. The report was, by the standards of reporting on soccer violence in Australia by commercial television networks, fairly reasonable, although the concerns of those people - both South fans and non-South fans - that there was little to be gained for South by having this footage and report come out at all has some merit to it.

Unfortunately, there was also the SMFCMike led ranting, which probably did more harm than good no matter how good it felt to vent one's spleen. So it goes. I understand the desire to stick the boot in and express a level of schadenfraude, but the way some people have gone about it is counter productive. Despite that, I get the motivation behind the way people have come out attacking the dominant narrative, even those who aren't South fans but who still understand the feeling. You deal with decades worth of being stigmatised as being troublemakers, of holding the game back - and all of a sudden here is the proof right there in front of you that Australian soccer violence is not an ethnic issue, but a violence issue - that ethnicity is just a smokescreen, and not a very a good one. Of course you'd feel like you'd want to go in with both barrels.

On the Victory forum, the overwhelming response seems to be against the Victory hooligans, being as appalled as anyone else at the behaviour. There have been a small amount of apologists, but they are in the extreme minority, including those who'd prefer that Channel 9 didn't get hold of the footage; but hiding the problem, pretending it doesn't exist or claiming that the incident was not as serious as people have made out will help no one who wants to solve this ongoing problem. For their part the North Terrace has spent a good deal of yesterday and today deleting comments off its Facebook page; its Twitter page has also not been active.

There was a rumour going around that SSCT representatives were so angered by the events that they'd refuse Victory any future access to Lakeside Stadium for their youth and maybe even women's games. If that rumour is true, than I hope that they follow through on that promise.

Blue and white, it's in your blood
Although I think the scenes were distressing for all those who witnessed them - and especially those who found themselves in the closest proximity to the violence - for some the most disheartening aspect was seeing at least one young ex-South fan, one whose blood was thought to course royal blue and white, among the group which crossed over from the northern side. These are strange times we're living in.

Next match
Avondale Heights on Friday night, in the first of two consecutive trips to Somers Street. One wonders how many South fans will be there, seeing as many will be at Orthodox Good Friday services. In these situations, I thank God I'm an atheist.

Match programmes
Thanks to The Agitator, we've added a whole bunch of South Melbourne home match programmes from season 1997-1998, nearly completing that season. There's also some Carlton fanzines and a Northern Spirit fanzine in the library, for those interested in those kinds of things.

Around the grounds
Sitting in the royal booth
Of all the possible football options on Friday night, I decided against Pascoe Vale vs Bentleigh because of its distance; against Port Melbourne vs Avondale out of some indistinct spite; and ended up choosing Melbourne Knights vs Oakleigh for not much more reason other than it was the closest of the three games and there was an intangible something to be said for the fact that this match would be the less important of the consecutive matches these two teams would be playing - with an FFA Cup match due this week at Oakleigh. I managed to persuade one of the parking lot attendants to let this 'reputable member of the media' (close to actual words) to waive the $3 parking fee - she's surely getting the sack - and proceeded to spend that savings bonanza on a can of Coke.  Goodbye parking fees, hello diabetes. Parking myself in the stand behind the Knights bench, I soon found myself surrounded by half of Knights' starting eleven, either injured or suspended. The game then followed a very predictable path, as Oakleigh dominated the first half leading 3-0 at the break, despite the Gus Tsolakis mantra of moving the ball forward slower than necessary. Almost nothing of note happened in the second half until Knights pulled one back.

Final thought
Apologies to all those who have waited patiently for this post. I'm not sure I have done the issue justice, but hopefully by making reference to some other sources, you'll have got some value out of it.

61 comments:

  1. Just happy to get the win. The goal's timing was a massive release and did calm the crowd down.

    Manny

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  2. Well where does one begin? How about wondering how a bunch of hooligans like the Northern Terrace get a say in whether South can use their trumpet or not? Talk about letting the inmates run the asylum, the result of that was there for all to see on Sunday and on Nine News tonight.

    Will the Knights game be a lock out? Or will they just lock out those brandishing cake forks?

    If the incident goes to the FFV Tribunal, will we know how many sitting on the tribunal are Victory members?

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    Replies
    1. "If the incident goes to the FFV Tribunal, will we know how many sitting on the tribunal are Victory members?"

      You know that hadn't actual crossed my mind, but that's a very good point. Maybe that explains why Victory haven't had to even front the tribunal for various incidents during their time in the NPL.

      Delete
    2. Let me clear one rumour up. At no stage did NT have a say about our trumpet. At a meeting earlier in the week, it was decided by all parties to not allow instruments into the ground, these things can turn into weapons in a split second. Was agreed by all parties and everyone was to be notified, we notified the drummer man but somehow we forgot to tell the trumpet man, we take full responsibility for that. It was a mistake on our behalf.


      Tony

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    3. It's unheard of around the world to have a governing body literally and legally favoured and biased. We should be getting in touch with fifa over these things.

      Delete
    4. Sorry, had to pick up my jaw before responding.

      Musical instruments are potential weapons, but telescopic flag poles aren't?


      Delete
    5. I've often been amazed at the attitude towards musicians by security/authorities at football matches. Apparently trumpets/drums are good places to hide flares - as if the people who play them would risk that in the first place - but there also seems to be an attitude that says these people are the head of hooligan groups or at the very least their music creates an increased possibility of violence.

      Delete
  3. New football seems to be in a far worse state than old soccer ever was...

    ReplyDelete
  4. South Melbourne media release

    http://www.smfc.com.au/smmv2016/

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  5. It is also worth noting, as others have, that South Melbourne board members Leo Athanasakis and Tony Margaritis, as well as Melbourne Victory's Joe Mirabella, did more to tackle the situation than the security. I may not always agree with what Leo does, but he deserves at least that much credit for yesterday.

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  6. Get rid of blue thunder security. Absolutely disgraceful company and inept on every level.
    Proud of the South boys, kep their cool 2 games in a row. Well done.

    Hellas FC

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  7. I was sitting in my usual seat in the bay next to the Clarendon corner with my 15 year old son. A few minutes before the second half kicked off two youths who weren't present during the first half arrived and sat a few meters from us, immediately I could tell they were trouble (I do believe they caught the attention of the others in the vicinity as well). I couldn't alert security as none were in close proximity - the Clarendon corner was distracted over the trumpet situation (security only seems to be successful in implementing a lamentable policy against musical instruments of any description). The two interlopers were in a state of agitation and communicating via text - I'm not sure if a few other individuals had positioned themselves behind the Clarendon corner and were working in tandem with these guys. It took a few seconds for the pair to make their move and make a grab for a banner - then all hell broke loose. That was the catalyst for the rest of the NT louts to make a foray across the athletics track. At that point I grabbed my son and made an exit from the area.

    I trust the security situation is being reviewed - the guys from Blue Thunder are inadequate in number and experience. Violence must have been expected hence the crowd segregation. Yet here we were, with ad-hoc and lazy security measures which put people at risk.

    The louts who were part of the NT don't have shame or any consciousness beyond gratifying their need for violence. If they're not buzzing on agro in the football terraces they are out there, somewhere else, trading in fear and loathing. Take a look at some of the low-brow homophobic slurs in the previous post by Italian Stallion.

    Ban the offenders from our stadiums. Why weren't the instigators apprehended?
    It's about time MV make a palpable effort in changing the violent culture within their fanbase.

    I'm proud of South, and what many of us witnessed last night was abhorrent. Violence and racism are not welcome at Lakeside. Let us be. I want to enjoy the great team that we have without the spectre of mindless violence. There is already enough of that in this world.

    Kostas

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  8. Paul - excellent synopsis of Sunday's events.

    To what degree of planning can you go to when you are up against mindless thugs who are hell bent on causing trouble? These are thugs who have no interest in football, merely to live out some fantasy that they are ultras, hardcore, and hooligans.

    At what point does this madness continue? When people are treated for injuries when bottles of bleach is thrown on them? Someone loses an eye? A knife is brandished? A life is lost?

    The FFV has turned a blind eye to their antics over the last 2 years. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH !!!!!!

    Identify them - punish them - ban them

    Photographs, video footage, CCTV footage, etc should provide enough evidence to identify these thugs. Pass their names on to the Police and let them feel the full force of the law.

    Clubs such as North Sunshine, Dandenong Thunder, Heidelberg, and Sunshine George Cross would be expecting a heavy punishment given the punishments they received for crowd disturbances.

    This will show whether the FFV has one set of regulations for Victory/City franchises, and another set of regulations for the remainder of Victorian football clubs.

    PS - this will be interesting to see whether this issue has the possibility to impact the Victory's good behaviour bond, and cost it 3 championship points in the following A League season.

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  9. Let's see what the 'independent' muppets at the ffv do. They base all their hearings on fact yeah ? Facts are as follows:
    - NT infiltrated south area.
    - NT crossed the restricted area.
    - NT entered the field of play.
    - NT hurled missiles at South fans.

    - SMFC did none of the above.

    End.

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  10. Well considered report, Paul. Would be very easy to forget the contest on the park and you've done and excellent job covering the lot.
    Really impressive job to not overplay nor underplay the non-football shenanigans.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The Active Support groups around the HAL are having their cake and eating it too.
    Now trying to blame this on "banned fans" who shouldn't have been allowed to enter the stadium. After spending the last six months defending the privacy of banned fans to the point where gate attendants have little power to keep these crunts out.

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  12. 1) Bit rich to suggest the trumpet is a hit on history and culture considering that line was crossed a long long time ago, eg, epifano and non-greek ffa cup strip.

    2) Why are we STILL actually hoping that some form of justice will play out after all these years? If we stop and actually think about it, the concept of MVFC copping equal and adequate punishment for this compared to that of an ethnic club is completely unfathomable. It won't happen and racism exists, end of story.

    3) Blue Thunder is crap? No shit. They're cheap and we'll continue using them.

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  13. The precedent was set with Dandenong Thunder and rogue fans. If nothing comes of this we'll know the federations are completely corrupt.
    If we cop any blame they are corrupt.

    There will be a big stink over this if the FFV fuck this up

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    Replies
    1. "If nothing comes of this"
      lol this is my point, we keep saying this, but years of evidence and we're still posing the question. we are too naive. they WILL go soft on mvfc, we should KNOW this. it's called racism.

      Delete
  14. Very solid report Paul. These individuals from the 'North Terrace' are ruining the game in Australia. The FFV and the FFA must take action against those responsible. Acting like a pack of wild animals when running across the pitch WHILE THE GAME WAS BEING PLAYED!! In spite of all this, it really was pleasing to see the 8-10 Enosi 59 boys come and support the club,could easily of sat on the Victory side. Seems as if they know where their home and heart is. Hopefully this is a massive wake up call for the people that run football in this country.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Get them to police themselves. Demand that they provide proper security, trained professionals with capsicum spray and tazers at every home and away game they play in. Corral their supporters into one area and keep them there. MVFC to bear the cost. Sounds extreme? Yes, but they deserve no less.

    Stormy

    ReplyDelete
  16. Any clown claiming these guys aren't true MV supporters or NT members, ask the questions:

    * why are they using the official NT facebook page to plan their event?
    * why are NT leaders not condemning the actions?
    * why did 99% of the NT join the fracas if they don't support this rogue element?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Football -

    We scraped home against a very very young side. I certainly hope Minopoulos was injured otherwise that kid is so unlucky Taylor is our coach. We lacked forward spark again. Theodore seemed to be playing more defensively again too. Bizarre choices.

    Non-Football:

    Kudos go to many Hellas board members who forced themselves in the middle of it trying to end the madness. MV should lose substantial points + closed doors for the rest of the season.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Completely agree with Minopoulos. Poor blokes career is suffering cos CT wants 12 men back out of 11 at all times. You figure it out!

      Delete
  18. Tragic, this is an opinion game and we are all entitled to them so please read this as healthy discussion and just another member like you who wants to see the team win, we could've scored 3 or 4 goals with a bit more luck and more clinical finishing, we didn't lack forward spark at all in my opinion, Matt Millar who played in Minopoulos favoured right attacking position ripped them to pieces with his pace and power and has arguably been our most in form player for the last 5 or 6 weeks. The only other position I think Minopoloulos can play is to replace Milos Lujic which I don't think is wise. Matthew Theodore is underrated and very smart at keeping the midfield unit together, he didn't start against Bulleen and we went 2-0 down and was substituted when we were still beating Richmond, the only blemishes on this seasons record. Maybe look at Minopoulos in for Schroen who I think has worked hard but not quite got going for us like he did at Hume?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like Schroen. He has physicality required for NPL football.

      Theodore bossed MV as their kids were all slight bodies. All things being equal, I'd have Jawadi in my XI and use Theodore off the bench as an impact player.

      Delete
    2. The boys are all very even in quality on their day. I don't see many standing above others - including Milos & the peoples champ.

      Agree with the Millar point - he was instrumental in the Hume & Oakleigh wins, of which the latter Theodore & Minopoulos were both used. I'm not sure who played where but we looked far more exciting & dangerous than the weekends game.

      Regardless of opinions, scoring 2 goals in a good attacking win should be enough to have seen Minopoulos hold his spot & the majority of the grandstand felt that way.

      Schroen seems to be struggling to find a spot in this system ?- didn't see much of him at Hume.

      Overall we want the best for the team and all opinions welcome.

      Delete
  19. I dont think there should be a-league in the NPL unless it's promotion/relagation but keep the youth teams for the NYL!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I agree with you on that Tragic, tough to lose your spot after two goals scored in the previous week but I assume CT went for Schroen over Minpoloulos to win the ball back quicker and be more physical against a not so physical but technically good Victory side. My opinion is Lujic, Foschini, Epifano, & Millar are definite starters and then it's two out of six for Jawadi, Theodore, Minopoulos, Schroen, Mbaka & Irwin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shit I forgot Hatzikostas and Kecojevic so actually two out of eight, tough job for CT

      Delete
  21. Thinking on it some more, how did the game not get abandoned? That many people jump the fence at any other ground and it's game over. Who was the ref, and did he not see those steaming across the running track? Can't believe it is official protocol to allow play to continue when people are using the corner flag as a spear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As South's press release on the matter indicated, there was that much more damage and chaos being caused than I've indicated in this post. Luckily the play and the players were for the most part at the other end of the field as the events unfolded.

      Delete
    2. Could you imagine if they attacked the players!

      Delete
  22. Excellent summary Paul. These clowns have had absolutely everything handed to them on a platter since day 1 and are protected by the brand conscience FFA. Of course they are going to come to our home to try and get another 'free hit' knowing full well the media angle will be 'those darn ethnics again'. It's pretty clear cut what went on, it's not even up for debate so 'hopefully' the FFV does its job without fear or favour. For the Tip

    ReplyDelete
  23. A good point picked up elsewhere regards Victory's designated supporter marshals - if there were people at Lakeside who were on an FFA ban list (even if it does not apply to state leagues), and they saw those persons in attendance, were they under instruction to identify and prevent those people from attending? And if they weren't, why not, considering the likely purpose of people on the FFA ban list attending this game would be to cause trouble?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Though I enjoy recaps and reports with more than a sprinkling of bias, this was a great report and very enjoyable to read. Thanks Paul.

    James

    ReplyDelete
  25. Love how these victory wankers are trying to disassociate themselves from their own fans. They're waving victory flags, singing victory chants and sitting in the victory area but oh no they are not our fans.. ppppft give me a break.
    Hope that franchise cops everything coming to it. What a disgrace of a club and fans. Can't even accept responsibility for their fans' actions and trying to turn it round like we're to blame.
    Looking forward to their punishment

    ReplyDelete
  26. The Victory supporters podcast 'For Vuck's Sake' made comment on the incidents - tune in from about 38:00 minutes in. The segment goes for about five minutes.

    https://soundcloud.com/forvuckssake/spang

    ReplyDelete
  27. Soccer has now turned full circle. The New Dawners are the violent thugs. The Bitters are the restrained decent supporters.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I can't believe how many people think something will come of this. It'll quietly disappear from relevance and there will be barely any punishment to speak of.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Have you seen Bosnich's response on twitter?

      Is HAL Grand Final week, so we should only be pushing positive stories. The anti-football media would have a field day with that sort of public attitude from the football media.

      Delete
    2. If this happens the whole Victorian football community will be out for the FFVs blood

      Delete
    3. Just found Bozza's response, which is fairly piss-weak. Arguing that he doesn't have a platform to discuss the issue on the very same platform he's discussed prior incidents involving Sydney United fans.

      That, and his inability to express himself within the limits of a regulation tweet is bloody irritating.

      Delete
  29. It is not fair for the clubs to be playing against a youth football team at senior level. If the franchise clubs and the FFA want to have youth teams why don’t they form their own league? The franchise’s playing in state leagues devalues the respective competitions just like when AIS played in the VPL.

    If the franchises are unable to fund it perhaps the FFA could use some of the $$ that they receive in order to whore out our national team referring to them as the Caltex Socceroos. One can only assume you can make a lot of money to sell out your national team.

    Alternatively I have come up with a radical solution to the problem at hand. I propose that some other large franchises branch off with youth football teams as well as the BBL franchises expanding to become multi sport. Imagine a league consisting of the following teams in Victoria. It would mean that all the Issues that “New Football” brings would not pollute “Old Soccer”.

    Mc Donald’s Macs
    Starbucks Coffees
    KFC Colonels
    Melbourne Victory
    Subway Substitutes
    7 Elevens Under wages
    Melbourne City
    Jim’s Northern Football
    Jim’s Eastern Football
    Melbourne Renegades
    Melbourne Stars


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahahah I like it.

      While we are at it, why not a Melbourne based league naming teams using other inappropriate nouns.
      Melbourne Defeat
      Melbourne 6 nil humiliation
      Melbourne Trams
      Melbourne Soccer Balls

      Seriously though, wouldn't have this abortion of a league if the HAL teams where clubs instead of franchises. I was always living in hope that one day our "football overlords" would recognize our value and let us in to play with the big boys.... fuck em. Personally I am quite content for South to remain a Soccer Club, keep as much of its image and heritage alive, and be there for future generations to enjoy watching the Mighty Mighty Hellas (even in NPL)- FFA is a good way to have a crack at the plastics once a year but otherwise I just ignore them.....

      Delete
    2. Will there be fireworks and inflatable hands and glow in the dark bootlaces? I could be up for this....

      FORZA COLONELS!

      Stormy

      Delete
    3. Hmmm interesting.

      Cheerleaders, marching bands at halftime the whole works. lots of fun football music blaring through the speakers every time the home team score (thinking "Simply the Best" or "we are the champions")

      Maybe the goalposts can have flashing neon lights and you get 1/2 a goal if you miss by less than 20 meters???

      Oh oh and I forgot to mention mascots... heaps of smelly grown men dressed in weird furry costumes fighting each other on the side lines...

      We love you Maccas we do, we love you Maccas we do,ohhhh Maccas we love you.....

      Delete
  30. Throw into the mix the high probability that the FFV tribunal is made up of Victory members....

    Also apologies to Paul for adding yet another anonymous comment lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. With the way some of the talk is going on about how some of the soon to be officially accused are related to South stalwarts and Neos Kosmos journalists - let alone one of them allegedly being a player at a state league clubs - what are the odds that one of those goons could be related to a member of the FFV tribunal?

      One of course laughs at such a suggestion even as one makes it, but this is all getting very incestuous.

      Delete
    2. Tell Kimon not to be corrupt.

      They're excusing this behavior already by allowing fans to this weeks game.

      This has the last scene of the untouchables written all over it

      Delete
    3. "This has the last scene of the untouchables written all over it"

      To be honest, can't say I've ever seen Kevin Costner at a NPL match

      Delete
    4. Not yet :D

      Waterworld what a shit movie!

      Anyway you get what I mean. Hope Kimon isn't corrupt.

      If the ffv find us guilty in any way it's like blaming a rape victim.

      Anyway the thing on our side is all parties agreed on security arrangements. Those responsible for the events that followed rest soley on MV and security. Nothing more SMFC could have done.

      It's unprecedented what happened on Sunday

      Delete
  31. Best front 3 in the league . Goal scoring machine Lujic and assist King epifano who also bangs in bombs

    #topoftheleague

    ReplyDelete
  32. Don`t feed the troll.

    Stormy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually I'm indirectly feeding those south fans that think they can suck on two teets.

      Delete
  33. Update from the club on identifying some of those responsible

    http://www.smfc.com.au/update-melbourne-victory-incident/

    ReplyDelete
  34. Great to see that 21 thugs have been identified, with the prospect of many more to be identified. I must say that the Club has done well in this respect.

    We are yet to hear from the FFV. Hopefully their efforts to sweep this under the carpet will be unsuccessful, and the GUILTY franchise is punished accordingly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think we are all watching very closely to see what the FFV does on this. I honestly believe their natural inclination would be to protect Victory but I think this particular incident has become way too high profile for them to try that bullshit.

      Delete
  35. They'll delay a public nnouncement til after the A-League GF

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And after MV's Asian Champs League campaign, and after their participation in the International Champions Cup.

      How funny would it be for MV v Athletico Madrid "close doors" at the MCG?

      Delete
  36. Seriously people, nothing will happen. Surely decades of football in this state paints that picture pretty clearly.

    ReplyDelete

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We've had a lot of fun over the years with my freewheeling comments policy, but all good things must come to an end. Therefore I will no longer be approving comments that contain personal abuse of any sort.

Still, if your post doesn't get approved straight away, it's probably because I haven't seen it yet.

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