Inside Sport

Western Sydney Wanderers fans linked to attack on young supporters


https://forum.insidesport.com.au/Topic1886707.aspx

By Roar_Brisbane - 20 Jan 2014 12:36 AM

Quote:
Football Federation Australia said it would wait for the findings of a police investigation before deciding whether to take any action against Western Sydney Wanderers after a violent incident on Saturday evening allegedly involving supporters of the club.

A group of teenage Sydney FC fans was attacked by a group of youths wielding baseball bats at Prince Alfred Park in Surry Hills on Saturday before the A-League match between Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners.
A 15-year-old boy was hospitalised after the incident, which could test the governing body's willingness to activate a suspended three-point penalty imposed on the Wanderers after clashes between fans before a match in Melbourne on December 28.

The group of teenagers was waiting in the park about 6pm on Saturday when about 15 youths set upon them. It's understood most of the supporters ran to safety, but a 15-year-old tripped while trying to flee and was beaten with sticks, repeatedly kicked and robbed of personal items, including his backpack and shoes. He was taken to hospital with a suspected broken arm but diagnosed with bruising.
Several witnesses told Fairfax Media that they identified a number of the alleged perpetrators as members of a Wanderers supporter group called ‘‘AMOK’’.

NSW Police issued a statement on Sunday confirming the attack. Surry Hills Police Inspector Amanda Calder said investigations were ongoing but the attack appeared to specifically target the young Sydney fans, who regularly meet in the park before games.

‘‘I’d have to say it was completely out of the blue – even the victims say that,’’ Inspector Calder said.
‘‘They just came out of nowhere, carrying baseball bats and sticks... It was obviously a targeted attack without doubt. They obviously had a real intention to hurt the kid.’’

The FFA will await the findings of the investigation before taking any action. No persons of interested had been identified by the police on Sunday night.

‘‘FFA is aware that NSW Police are investigating an incident that occurred in Surry Hills on Saturday night involving patrons waiting to attend a football match,’’ an FFA spokesperson said.
‘‘This is a matter for the police. FFA will await advice from NSW Police, but in the first instance the matter does not fall within the jurisdiction of FFA.’’

The governing body imposed harsh punishments in December in response to the poor behaviour of a section of Wanderers and Melbourne Victory supporters. Both clubs were charged with bringing the game into disrepute and handed suspended three-point penalties that will be triggered by any repeat behaviour this season.
The Wanderers may now be walking a tightrope after a small group of their fans were alleged by witnesses to have been involved in Saturday’s attack.

A spokesman for the FFA said the governing body was not prepared to reveal what incidents would trigger an activation of the points deduction. In its statement confirming the sanctions on January 8, the FFA said: ‘‘the sanction is the deduction of three (3) competition points if incidents of a significant magnitude were to occur. The sanction is applicable until the conclusion of the 2013/14 season.’’
http://m.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/western-sydney-wanderers-fans-linked-to-attack-on-young-supporters-20140119-312xc.html?rand=1390136765150
By Kamaryn - 21 Jan 2014 11:59 PM

Eldar wrote:
Siameseparrot wrote:
I'll put this very simply so everyone can understand it.

Suppose 4 or 5 friends joined a football club. Midweek they went to the casino wearing their club outfits. They got into an argument about football with a supporter of another club. So they ganged up on this person, punched and kicked him and he later died from this mugging.

To use some convoluted logic to suggest the football club should at a minimum lose premiership points because it is somehow responsible for the criminal conduct of these thugs is contemptible. The attempt to deduct premiership points from the club would be laughed out of court, if challenged by the football club in a Court of Law.


Is there really any point in suggesting ridiculous hypotheticals that would obviously not result in the docking of points if it had nothing to do with a game of football, and comparing it to a situation where WSW fans chased people down a street and attacked them with poles as they were waiting to attend a game at which they subsequently let off a number of explosives and pyrotechnics?


His analogy is not as ridiculous as it seems, and is more relevant than citing the trouble in Melbourne like you did (i.e. the crowd trouble in this article has absolutely zero to do with attacking people with poles as they waited for their own game in Melbourne). In the original post, you will see that the event happened several kilometres from the Sydney football stadium (NOT Parramatta where the Wanderers play); before a match between CCM and SFC (NOT the Wanderers), on a day that the Wanderers weren't even playing and (if you look this up), you will realise the Wanderers were playing away in Adelaide the following day (so weren't even in the same state but were 1375 kms away!).

The Wanderers cannot be held responsible for this in any way, and whilst his example seems ludicrous, it just shows how ridiculous it would be for the FFA to punish them.

But maybe this would be a better analogy. Imagine Manchester United were in Vienna (a comparable 1425 kms away from airport to airport compared to Syd-Adelaide's 1375 kms) to play FK Austria Wien in the Champions on Sunday. Now we find out on Saturday, that a small group of people who may be United supporters are reported beating up some Liverpool supporters a few kms near Anfield before Liverpool's match with Birmingham (distance by car between Parra stadium and SFC is 37km and a travel time of 35 minutes, between Old Trafford and Anfield is 54 kms and a travel time of 42 minutes). The time and location distance is almost the same as this supposed Wanderers incident. Now would you argue that Manchester United are thus responsible for this crime? That they should have done something? That it is their fault for not stopping their fans from committing crimes a large distance from their own stadium, when they are themselves basically on the other side of Europe? Unless you can say yes to this (and I would find that hard to believe), you cannot say blame the Wanderers either FULL STOP.