Enraged A-League fans "are preparing for a major showdown with Football Federation Australia," according to Ray Gatt of THE AUSTRALIAN. Western Sydney’s Red and Black Bloc became the "first group to confirm it had instructed its members to boycott Saturday’s game against Brisbane Roar at Pirtek Stadium." The RBB issued a statement Tuesday in reply to what it described as FFA CEO “David Gallop’s shambolic press conference” Monday. The statement said, “Gallop and the FFA have shown they are not listening to anyone. Gallop and the FFA did not defend it’s largest stakeholder, the fans, or the game itself against media bias.” The leader of Sydney FC’s fan group The Cove "also suggested a boycott of A-League games." Gallop spoke for the first time since a Sydney newspaper ran a front-page story "naming and shaming 198 fans who had been banned from A-League games over the past three years" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 12/2). In Sydney, Dominic Bossi wrote Gallop called on fans to "act positively and move on from recent issues, but the likelihood of a large-scale fan boycott across the league this weekend looms after many supporter groups flagged their intention to stay away from games on social media." Gallop "left the door ajar for fans who had been banned to prove their innocence by providing new evidence," but did not budge from the "fundamentals" of FFA's banning policy. When asked what evidence a banned fan could present in order to have it overturned, Gallop would not specify -- but reiterated FFA's line that "decisions to issue bans were not made lightly." Gallop: "You could prove that you didn't do it, if you could prove it wasn't you, then those are the obvious ones. It has to be very strong evidence because we've looked at these matters" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 12/1).
INDEPENDENT A-LEAGUE? In Melbourne, David Davutovic opined FFA's "latest own goal has made it apparent that it is time to have an open and frank discussion about an independent A-League." The "governing body is far too under-resourced to apply the required attention to the A-League, which is the game's bedrock." While the Australian Football League staff number has "ballooned past 600," FFA "has 70 employees overseeing the A-League, a host of senior and youth national teams, coach education and a rapidly growing junior participation base" (HERALD SUN, 12/1).
