Fan Behaviour at AFL games

I bet you Gills mates run the security company employed by the AFaiL.
Jobs for mates again!

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I reckon alot can be attributed to the umpiring and it is causing frustration to boil over.

I’m actually pretty calm at the footy (stop laughing everyone) but I reckon about 3 occasions this year I’ve thanked my lucky stars that I am sitting on Level 3 (preferred seats) because I reckon I would have stormed the ground.

On Friday night had a Hawks supporter (didn’t know they existed) sitting behind me and I could tell he used to be an umpire, so for the final quarter when they started cheating again I just started hurling abuse (not at him) and lumping them all on the same cheating barrel, how they ruin the game, how they are not needed and we should just have the 2 captains umpire the games etc etc.

Fix the umpiring and I reckon alot of frustration does down

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It needs to be seperated from the umpiring. People are now frustrated and confused about what they can and cannot do at the football.

If we somehow fixed umpiring issues, fans would still get angry at games. There will always be disappointment and frustration in the game - your teams performance, the opposition, other fans. Fans need a way to release this. You feel the lows and that’s what makes the highs more enjoyable.

What’s our release? There’s a common sense fans have typically followed in the majority- what’s acceptable behaviour and what’s not. It seems like the stadium security have changed their opinion of this in the last month or so and it’s not in line with the wider views of the footy fan.

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Marvel CEO says they have gone too far. And it ws they who decided this, not the AFL. Still the AFL own Marvel so…

Anyway, assuming that’s the case, what made them decide to implement these security measures? Have they actually seen an increase / change in crowd behaviour that warranted them to react this?
Is this “behaviour” between fans or to the umpires/players or both?

Or is it about them just saying yeah, that was allowed the last few years but now it’s not the right thing to do anymore.

Umpires have been boooed for years. As have fans. It’s one of those things. But it’s really only when they have a very poor game. A lot of games they walk off and no one has anything to same to them because they did ok. Is this umpires association saying we need to a buffer? - well they/AFL farked up the PR post-ANZAC Day so tough. Is this the AFL looking to avoid another Goodes doco, this time from umpires.

The thing is, someone decided to do this. There had to be a discussion where someone(s) said there was an issue and they decided to do this to fix it. So what made them decide to do this?

He categorically denies it being an AFL directive. So that confirms it.

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Who owns that stadium, again?

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Me and my mate.
Have done for 45 years.
Has to be used judiciously but it’s surprisingly effective, going by the actual results

“It is the same level of security as previous years,

There’s been no increase in security presence and numbers."

And if you believe that…

Tony Stark?

On a serious note I blame the move to reserved and ticketed seating.
There’s always been a difference in what people regard as “offensive” behaviour.
Leaving aside the obvious racist, sexist, homophobic taunts, and the small minority looking for a physical biffo ( a separate topic) there’s still a wide range of what’s acceptable behaviour & language.
This anonymous reporting puts no lower limit on what is actually reported to security- too loud? A swear word? baldness shaming?

In the old days …I know I know … there were de facto family areas & everyone knew there were areas where the behaviour language and carry on was much more intense.
People chose where to sit - if you were worried about your kids or your own delicate sensibilities you didn’t venture onto the Hill, or behind the cheer squads.
And crowds were policed accordingly, with a feel for what was OK in that part of the crowd.
Fans would still mingle. People were able to move away, ( or towards if someone was in fine fettle)

Now everyone is stuck
Lowest common denominator rules.

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It’s like living in the world of The Hunger Games.

See, this should be really - really really really - easy.

No F, no C. Maybe no S as well.
No racial, sexual, religious or homophobic stuff.
And leave the families out of it.

When they flash the “anti social behaviour hotline” message, put all of that up.
Should take all of 30 words.

There we go:
There’s the rules, there’s the punishments.

Easy. Very, very easy.

Of course, this is the AFL… there’s a rule, which we’re not going to spell out, and there’s also an interpretation of the rule… (which is that we’re always right)… simples.

You simply can’t stop people booing, nor can you stop people criticising umpires or coaches or players: just stop the worst of the language.

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FWIW:

An Australian court ruled it was OK to essentially call Tony Abbott a c*nt - upside down A. (They made no ruling as to whether it should be made mandatory). Guy had it on a sandwich board going up and down a main street of sydney.

https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nsw/NSWDC/2017/231.html?context=1;query=Danny%20lim;mask_path=au/cases/nsw/NSWSC+au/cases/nsw/NSWCA+au/cases/nsw/NSWCCA+au/cases/nsw/NSWCIMC+au/cases/nsw/NSWCC+au/cases/nsw/NSWDC+au/cases/nsw/NSWDRGC+au/cases/nsw/NSWIC+au/cases/nsw/NSWKnoxRp+au/cases/nsw/NSWLEC+au/cases/nsw/NSWLeggeSC+au/cases/nsw/NSWLawRp+au/cases/nsw/NSWStRp+au/cases/nsw/NSWADT+au/cases/nsw/NSWADTAP+au/cases/nsw/NSWCATAP+au/cases/nsw/NSWCATAD+au/cases/nsw/NSWCATCD+au/cases/nsw/NSWCATGD+au/cases/nsw/NSWCATOD+au/cases/nsw/NSWCHT+au/cases/nsw/csat+au/cases/nsw/NSWCTTT+au/cases/nsw/NSWDT+au/cases/nsw/NSWDDT+au/cases/nsw/NSWFTT+au/cases/nsw/NSWGT+au/cases/nsw/NSWIRComm+au/cases/nsw/NSWIndGaz+au/cases/nsw/NSWMPSC+au/cases/nsw/NSWMT+au/cases/nsw/NSWMHRT+au/cases/nsw/NSWPrivCmr+au/cases/nsw/NSWNMT+au/cases/nsw/NSWNMPSC+au/cases/nsw/NSWOPT+au/cases/nsw/NSWOST+au/cases/nsw/NSWPB+au/cases/nsw/NSWPHT+au/cases/nsw/NSWPYT+au/cases/nsw/NSWPDT+au/cases/nsw/NSWPST+au/cases/nsw/NSWPST+au/cases/nsw/NSWSSB+au/cases/nsw/NSWWCCPD+au/cases/nsw/NSWSupC+au/cases/nsw/AUESFA+au/cases/nsw/AUESFAAC

Agree with the sentiment in Michael Gleeson’s article - that the game has been take away from fans - and have felt so since the supplements saga made me understand that the AFL are not beholden at all to fans (or to anything other than delivering customers to market).
But fans could take the game back, with grassroots actions like banners at the game (as suggested above, like ‘we pay your salary’), or by fans wearing a black cloth-taped X over their mouths at games (which would be a powerful protest, but really weird! Expect a huge increase in body language, and inarticulate grunts and moans). How would the AFL respond to sustained, cross-club protest activism at matches?
Tough ask for the fans who go to the footy for the footy…but I’d love to see the AFL reminded that they are exploiting something built by our community over the past century or so.

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As one of the very very very few with tape over my jumper’s AFL logo, I’m not expecting mass action.

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100% correct.

They showed a Carlton fan on TV at this weekend’s game with black gaffer tape over her mouth.
(Mind you, when she peeled it off, I really wished she would put it back on! :confused:)

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As an duel A League/AFL fan we’ve been coping it for years at A League. We had cops rock up to the victory away pub in adelaide last season and search every single person in the pub for flares, i had my shoulders crunched by a hero cop with his batton because i was pushed out of the formation they marched us in, our entire bay was pepper sprayed, Active fans groups started boycotting and walking out of games.

Hardcore AFL fans told us we deserved it, we are all violent hooligans. A small part of me is enjoying the karma.

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A corrupt organisation will never admit or accept that there is an issue or mistake made internally.

A Corrupt organisation looks at external issues as the problem. How many times have corrupt businesses given hush money or make personal threats to people who speak out about them.

The AFL won’t ever admit that there is an issue within the game which has been caused by their management. it is the media or the public’s fault for talking about it… always.

In this case, it’s the supporters fault for booing or venting at the collective disapproval of the quality of Umpiring and the quality of the game. It is the media’s fault for reporting about it.

The fact the McLaughlin said “no, we aren’t targeting supporters” is evidence of taking no responsibility. It’s simply passive-aggressive,and passing the buck.

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As the governing body and management responsibility they have absolute power over our beloved games, and it corrupts absolutely. It’s really kicked into gear with the Flog AD, Gill is just taking it to a whole new level.

With a diminishing level or transparency, no governance other than a committee of war fighting chairman’s who can be bribed easily it almost has no solution.

Unless they fundamentally change the structure and responsibility or the AFL commission and management it will never change.

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