While the safety of families and fans are paramount, outsiders of the world game in Australia need to understand active support is as important as the round ball itself. Hopefully FFA, the police, active support groups and clubs can come to an agreement where all parties are satisfied. Since the inception of WSW, it is a joy to witness the atmosphere and noise the fans generate. Even in the Melbourne derby it was heartening to see the Victory fans chanting in the 90th minute with their team 4 goals down. Active support will help win over the hearts of the neutrals, we should be embracing it not restricting it. Below is the statement released by the RBB to the fans, submitted by a fan: Credit to Rafal Korkise: The RBB issues this statement on behalf of its members and to all WSW fans. Firstly we would like to thank all our members and fans around the stadium for their continued support on match days. Your contribution is appreciated, welcomed and encouraged. This was none more evident than on Sunday at the match vs Newcastle Jets. The RBB understands the lack of clarity surrounding yesterdays silent protest. Be assured that despite the social media rumour mill and some journalists conjuring their own truths, the decision to protest has no link to the repercussions of flare use during Wednesdays ACL match against Ulsan. The tone of the email was divisive, and generalising in its condemnation of the RBB as a whole. Not to mention poorly worded, making members come to differing conclusions. The club is intentionally trying to divide us, the fans, by pitting the active and non-active supporters against each other. This is a cheap publicity stunt to show that the club is doing something, and to satisfy the media and FFA alike. This is done by implying that the whole of the RBB is to blame for the events of Wednesday night, not a handful or a minority who engaged in such anti-social behaviour. The club also does not make mention of the fact that the RBB bays on Wednesday night were general admission tickets, not only ticketed members. Generalisations are being made, and the common principles of society are being ignored. This also contradicts Lyall Gorman’s continued assertions that the Wanderers are a community, because they are trying to divide this community through such statements. 1. An MOU between the RBB and WSW was never signed nor agreed upon. A draft copy was provided by WSW to the RBB. An MOU is defined as an agreement between two parties, not one party which assumes its acceptance. The club makes reference to this MOU in its member update email as an iron clad agreement, and advises members that they can request a copy of the document. This is misleading and leads all fans to believe that there was such an agreement in place, which is not the case. 2. Open and transparent dialogue between WSW and RBB is being compromised due to the events leading to the members email sent out by the club. A draft of the email was provided to the RBB only minutes before it was made public. This email was then sent out en masse while concerns regarding the wording and content of the email were being discussed with the club. This concern was communicated to the club prior to the Sunday’s game, but duly dismissed. 3. Due legal process regarding bans and appeals is not being applied. Alleged perpetrators are “identified”, and duly banned without an appeals process or explanation, nor proof of guilt. These supporters are given no rights, even if proven innocent in a court of law. Not to mention the extremely aggressive stand over tactics and measures taken to harass members by police and Hatamoto. There is a severe lack of transparency. Some examples are; • Members of the RBB being followed by HATAMOTO, the FFA’s hired undercover security firm, inside and outside FFA grounds to build profiles against members, including at the pre-match pub and on the way home. The unity of our fans, the passionate support and the success of our team are our priority. See you at the derby, where it will be business as usual with the takeover of Allianz stadium. STAND UNITED, NEVER DIVIDED.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 01:46:36 +0000
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