For any Spirit fans out there who didn't make it to Wollongong or anyone else misinformed by the press for that matter, I think TC and some of the other mailers have given a far more accurate account of the events at last nights 'soccer brawl', 'riot' or whatever other misnomer given to it. I'd like to hear any reports to the contrary from other Spirit fans down there. While I couldn't honestly (and probably many other Spirit fans also) condone the actions of a small minority of the Spirit gathering, what ensued could only be described as a gross over reaction and a disgraceful handling of what should have been a relatively minor crowd disturbance by the local police.
As a long time Australian soccer supporter I'm all too aware of the prejudice and ignorance of mainstream society and the media towards football here and abroad, so in some ways it makes the police making a mountain out of a mole hill a little less surprising. It also makes it difficult not to entertain conspiracy theories of one kind or another. I've witnessed many and more serious offences at the SCG involving both Aussies and English cricket supporters (ears bitten off etc) only to be handled in a less melodramatic and more appropriate way by the police/security. If the repercussions weren't so serious, it was almost comical to see police vehicle after police vehicle (around a dozen including a large rescue unit) almost obliterating the Brandon Park gates in their eagerness to quell the mob riot us mindless, piss head, yobbo fans were supposedly engaged in!!
To answer Ray Gatts' query, yeah there was a small degree of truth in the word association of capsicum spray, batons, arrests and Brandon Park, but after reading all the days press from Sydney and Wollongong, the saying 'never let the truth get in the way of a good story' still seems to apply. Apart from the poor (innocent and not so innocent) bastards who copped the spray and the batons, my almost immediate concern was for the imminent media beat up and the unjust tarnishing of the image of not only the A-league, but of a rare group of passionate, colourful and enthusiastic football supporters in the Ericsson Cup. Hope this is avoided and that the police handling of something which really amounted from nothing, is given proper scrutiny.