The King is Dead, Long live the king.
Ever since “New Football” came into being under the dictator-like Chairmanship of Frank Lowy it has been a case of do as we say not as we do. Mr Lowy may have moved one from the Chairmanship of the game but his legacy remains.
Not The Footy Show would like to make it abundantly clear that it does not condone the use of flares at A-League, NPL or State League games.
Western Sydney Wanderers now find themselves in an unwanted situation after 19 flares created smoke so thick at their weekend fixture that referee Ben Williams had no option but to stop the game until the smoke cleared.
Western Sydney Wanderers as a club, who must be at their wits end as to how to rid themselves of this unwanted element within their in the mainly excellent supporters.
One question will be how fans managed to get flares into the stadium, but where there is a will there is a way. In many grounds around the world, and in the old NSL fans would sneak in before the weekend fixture and hide them in the ground so that when they were searched on match day nothing was found on them.
Does the lighting of flares actually add to the atmosphere at a game? The minority obviously feel that they do. Yet the truth is flares are against the law. So if you want to try and be an ‘Australian Ultra’ and bring these flares into the stadia, then face the consequences.
So why is the FFA under fire? Well despite them being illegal and Western Sydney Wanderers facing a fine and possibly a deduction of points for the behaviour of their fans. The FFA has actually used visual footage of flares in their promotion of the A-League.
So once again it would appear that it is OK to use flares to promote the game, and the atmosphere created by fans, but it is not OK for fans to actually re-enact that scene.
This is sadly another example of how dictatorships does not work and causes more unrest than unity. Most fans are against flares but at the same time most fans are questioning the double standards employed by those administering the game.
Steven Lowy has not been in the hot seat long but already it is time that he delivered a clear message that under his Chairmanship there will no longer be a do as I say not as I do policy within the FFA, and that will filter down to all State Bodies as well.
