Football Federation Australia is "hoping to bring active fans back to the terraces" for next weekend's round of A-League matches, with Chair Steven Lowy "revealing the governing body will meet with fan representatives on Wednesday," according to Sebastian Hassett of THE AGE. The meeting in Sydney will feature fan representatives from all 10 A-League clubs and "promises to be frank exchange of views, not just on how the names of 198 banned fans were leaked but also on a host of other issues." That discussion will come hours after FFA has its regular meeting with A-League club chairs, "many of whom have publicly or privately supported the actions of the fans during the past fortnight." After "witnessing boycotts at multiple A-League venues over the weekend, Lowy spent his Sunday co-chairing a meeting of the ASEAN Football Federation in Circular Quay." Lowy said, "At the end of the day, we're all here to love football, watch football, and the FFA will do everything it can, in consultation with all of the stakeholders, to find a resolution. We have to resolve it. They have to resolve it. We want to resolve it. We're working tirelessly to resolve it. The management team, under [CEO] David's [Gallop] leadership, is laser-focused on resolving this issue" (THE AGE, 12/7). In Sydney, Dominic Bossi reported "despite some supporter groups being involved in clashes in the past, some violent, they have put aside all differences to unite in seeking a proper appeals process to banning notices and improved crowd management systems." The union of supporters is the "latest development in the bitter fan war with the FFA, led by Western Sydney Wanderers' Red and Black Bloc, Sydney FC's The Cove and North Terrace of Melbourne Victory." The "overriding issue for fans is the absence of an appeals process for innocent fans who have received bans and the lack of transparency provided by the FFA to banned supporters." A-League fans claim that "there is no presumption of innocence provided to spectators by police, the FFA and security firms and are critical of the FFA's reluctance to publicly defend the reputation of members despite praising the atmosphere they create at games" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 12/6).
LEGITIMATE GRIPES: The AAP reported Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou endorsed protests from active A-League supporters, saying that their "gripes were reasonable and legitimate, but called for an immediate end to full match boycotts." Postecoglou said that he was "bemused" by sudden media "cheerleading" on an issue that has been "bubbling under the surface for years." Postecoglou said, "This is not a new issue. For a long time, even when I was coaching Brisbane and Melbourne Victory, fans weren't really happy with the process of banning supporters and the lack of an appeal process. ... I think for the first week the supporters actually handled themselves pretty well. The protest of walking out during the game was very effective, very orderly. ... [But] to carry on with this boycott, I've never liked anyone saying that without them, the game doesn't exist. That's just garbage. Whether that's players, coaches, administrators, owners -- I've head owners say, 'This is my club.' It ain't your club. None of us would exist without the actual game. If we all walked away, the game would still go on because there'd be a couple of kids in a park somewhere playing it" (AAP, 12/5).
ADMITTING MISTAKES: In London, Mike Hytner wrote FFA is facing "further headaches after reportedly admitting mistakes that led to a kit clash during Wellington Phoenix's shock defeat of Melbourne Victory in Auckland and complaints about the state of the pitch." Victory coach Kevin Muscat "pointed the finger" at the A-League CEO Damien de Bohun, for "overruling the match referee at the last minute, forcing Victory to wear white shirts that clashed with the one-off silver strip" Wellington wore. The state of the pitch in Auckland "was also a bone of contention for Victory." Muscat: "The last time I checked, grass is a pretty vital ingredient for a football game and unfortunately there was none there today" (GUARDIAN, 12/6).
