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The Sweeper: Australian Fans Treated Like Terrorists?

Posted by on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 at 7:40 am in Diary | 3

Recent Melbourne Victory supporters' protest

Recent Melbourne Victory supporters' protest

Big Story
It’s an absurdly hyperbolic headline from the Roar, but their story of surveillance of fans is a little concerning, especially in the context of the long failure of the Australian football authorities to understand that heavy-handed restrictions and knuckle-headed security is not the way to grow the sport in a country with far more established sporting cultures.

In this case, the Australian Football Association have hired a firm called Hatamoto to provide “security management support.” Whilst this is not unusual, the methods being employed against Australian fans — who hardly have a history of anything that could seriously ever be considered as organised hooliganism — are causing some angst, with Hatamoto employees caught surreptiously filming fans and hanging out at supporter social events.

What’s worse than the undercover surveillance (which also happens in MLS, incidentally) is that they’ve been caught doing it by fans, many of whom will now believe — rightly or wrongly — that their own authorities are out to get them, and another wedge of distrust is placed between fans and the league.

British News

  • Money can’t buy you everything. It appears Sol Campbell’s stay at Notts County is already over — the question is whether he’ll be allowed to sign for another club before January, and even if so, if he’ll bother to get in good enough shape to play. Apparently £40,000 a week wasn’t enough for him to do so in Nottingham.
  • Gabrielle Marcotti rips into the investigation into El Hadji Diouf allegedly telling a ballboy to “fuck off white boy.” Marcotti points out that “Racist abuse is based on a history of power relations between people. There is a difference between a white person calling a black person “black ****” and a black person calling a white person “white ****”. Diouf also says bananas were thrown at him. Meanwhile, a man is in custody after Blackpool striker Jason Euell was allegedly racially abused by a Stoke supporter at a Carling Cup tie last nigt.
  • The Football Association’s decision not to punish Craig Bellamy or Gary Neville for their actions during the Manchester derby has Matt Hughes wondering where the consistency is just days after the FA charged Emmanuel Adebayor with improper conduct for similar action — though the latter was clearly far more provocative, and the results of his action were worse.

North American News

The Sweeper appears daily. For more rambling and links throughout the day every day, follow your editor Tom Dunmore @pitchinvasion on Twitter.


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Tom Dunmore is the founder of Pitch Invasion. Originally from Brighton, England, he's now resident in Chicago. He is also the editor of Stadium Porn and the author of the Historical Dictionary of Soccer. Follow Tom @pitchinvasion on Twitter.
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3 Comments

  1. I am interected in learning more about the undercover surveillance by the MLS of supporter groups. Can you provide proof?

  2. I’ve been told by an MLS team representative that they have security undercover amongst supporter groups.

  3. I was under the impression that Adebayor wasn’t suspended for inciting the fans, but for kicking out at Robin Van Persie’s face. All Bellamy did was slap a pitch invader, and I’m generally of the opinion that any moron who runs out onto the field during a game pretty much deserves what they get.