Some Australian soccer fans have a self-destructive habit of violence that can turn their football code from moments of golden promise able to lift the nation, into an ugly, shameful thing that risks the goal of national acceptance.
It surfaced again on Friday evening in south-west Sydney when an alleged brutal attack on a referee at a suburban soccer match revealed the savagery just below the surface of a code that has long struggled to overcome its massive image problem.
A video shows referee Khodr Yaghi being punched by a spectator in south-west Sydney.
The Padstow Hornets had defeated Greenacre Eagles 5-1 in a Bankstown Premier League match when a male spectator, reportedly a suspended player, allegedly attacked referee Khodr Yaghi, repeatedly punching him to the ground and breaking his jaw. A widely broadcast video of the assault shows the referee bleeding from the mouth.
In other incidents, disgraceful scenes erupted at the A-League’s derby between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park last December when fans staged a walkout to protest the Australian Professional League’s (APL) decision to sell hosting rights to the men’s and women’s grand finals to Sydney for the next three years.
Fans from both clubs began throwing flares onto the field. But when City goalkeeper Tom Glover attempted to remove one that landed on the playing surface and threw it back into the stands, a group of Victory supporters stormed the pitch and the player was hit on the head with a metal bucket. Referee Alex King and a cameraman were also injured.
Last August, the riot squad was called to break up a brawl in Sydney’s inner west in which spectators shouted and threw flares and road signs at each other outside Leichhardt Oval.
The latest attack comes as Australia eagerly anticipates the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, when the popular Australia’s women’s national team, the Matildas, takes on Ireland at Sydney’s Accor Stadium in the opening round in 12 weeks. The team has become such a mainstream attraction that the clash with Ireland is already sold out and the Matildas’ captain, Sam Kerr, has been chosen Australia’s flag-bearer for King Charles’ coronation next weekend.
Meanwhile, the Australian men’s national team shared the stage at last year’s Qatar FIFA World Cup with the game’s greatest stars and proved that they deserved their place. The Socceroos advanced to the round of 16 for only the second time in Australian football history with a 1-0 triumph over Denmark at Al Janoub Stadium, before going down to Argentina 2-1.
Such shining moments keep alive the golden hope that Australian soccer’s best days are ahead. But too often the spectre of violence returns to shatter the dream. It would be a shame and a waste should Friday’s incident erode much of the goodwill the Matildas have garnered.
It is a shame that the actions of a few cast such a long shadow over soccer’s growth in Australia.Credit: Getty Images Aisa/Pac
For decades, Australian soccer has struggled for wider acceptance. Class, sectarian and ethnic rivalries are not unknown in Australian rules and the rugby codes, but these other brands of football have successfully overcome violent tribalism that goes beyond humour. The abandonment of the National Soccer League with its many ethnically based clubs to the A-League is an attempt to both grow the code’s popularity and put behind a reputation for violence. But clearly some fans are unable to read the winds of change. It is a shame that the actions of a few cast such a long shadow over the thousands of people who participate in soccer games around the country on a weekly basis without incident.
The alleged attack on the referee in south-west Sydney comes as parents across Australia are reevaluating their children’s involvement in football codes following concerns about concussion. In soccer, the cumulative effect of heading the ball is surprisingly bad for the brain but at junior levels it’s probably of little concern. But violence is. Unless soccer authorities urgently address the issue and stamp it out, their game will have little future among younger generations.
