Ghosts of a dark Balkan past were conjured by a group of Sydney United 58 FC fans when they met Macarthur FC for the Australia Cup Final last weekend.
“What happened was horrific,” said Craig (Foz) Foster, the former football great, SBS commentator and human rights activist.
Croatian fascist Ustasha songs from World War II, drowned out Erin Wilkins who led the Welcome to Country Ceremony while at least one spectator hailed with Ustasha Nazi salute.
Ustasha were notorious fascists who sided with the Nazis in World War II and carried out atrocities against Jews, Roma, Croatians, Serbians, Albanians, or anyone from the former Yugoslav Republic opposed to them.
Foster who started as a midfielder in Sydney Croatia in 1988, said that these spectators “have tainted our beautiful Australian Croatian community and people are very upset about that.”
Neos Kosmos contacted Football Australia for comment but were directed to media releases and statements on their website.
In their statements Football Australia “strongly” condemned what they call the “actions of a small minority of individuals” from Sydney United 58 FC.
“Football Australia took steps during the match to address some isolated behaviours by a small minority of individuals, including facilitating the evictions of eight people.”
A media spokesperson from Football Australia pointed Neos Kosmos to a letter issued on October 5 by their CEO James Johnson.
The CEO underscored the “swift and collaborative investigation” Football Australia undertook with participating clubs, security providers, and NSW Police.
“I can announce that Football Australia has concluded an investigation into the conduct of an identified spectator in attendance at the Australia Cup Final held at CommBank Stadium in Sydney on 1 October 2022.”
“The spectator in question has today been issued with a lifetime ban from attending Football Australia-sanctioned football matches including all NPL, A-Leagues, Australia Cup, and National Team matches,” Johnson wrote in the letter.
Foster is unimpressed with the focus on individuals and called for more serious action.
“I think it’s a mistake to assume that it’s just individuals – who aren’t aligned to any groups. We need to make sure that this, these people are not aligned in any way to the club and haven’t been in any way harboured, supported, or been enabled by the club,” Foster told Neos Kosmos.As news of the incident broke last Sunday Sydney United 58 FC stated on its Facebook page that the club “has zero tolerance towards any form of disrespect, racism or discrimination” and stated that “The club is deeply committed to creating an environment that is respectful and inclusive, which also allows our community members to celebrate their heritage in a meaningful and responsible way.”
The club condemned “Those that do not align themselves with these values are not welcome at Sydney United 58 FC and their views will never be tolerated.
“Multiculturalism and inclusivity are two of the game’s fundamental pillars and will continue to be a priority for our Club and its supporters,” the statement concluded.
The Sydney United 58 FC Board issued a similar statement on Thursday saying that “The Club has zero tolerance towards any form of disrespect, racism or discrimination. The Club condemns all forms of antisemitism, extremism or intolerance and continues to work with authorities to remove such behaviour from the game.”
Craig Foster said that the impact the actions of this group on Erin Wilkins, the Jewish community, and others, even Greeks who had suffered under Nazi brutality needs to be seriously considered.
“The actions of a group of people, fans or otherwise, have had a major impact on Erin [Wilkins] who was conducting the Welcome to Country Ceremony and on groups who know better than anyone the evil intent of Nazism and Fascism, including our Jewish Australian community.”
Foster called the impact on the “the game itself ‘tertiary’ to the impact on these communities, which is by far the most important thing that must be immediately addressed.”
Neos Kosmos understands that Football Australia has yet to sign onto the Australian Human Rights Commission’s (AHRC) Spectator Racism Guidelines.
Race Discrimination Commissioner, Chin Tan said that to date the Commission’s Spectator Racism Guidelines “had been formally endorsed by 24 sporting and anti-racism organisations,” when contacted by Neos Kosmos.
He added that while Football Australia was “invited to endorse the Guidelines but it has not.”
Asked if he was frustrated or disappointed the Race Discrimination Commissioner said that sport “can bring out the best in our communities, and can be a place where values of equality, fairness and participation are realised.”
“Sporting organisations like the FFA [Football Australia] have a central role to play in taking responsibility for anti-racism actions. Endorsing the Guidelines would reflect a public commitment by the FFA [Football Australia] to identify actions it can take to ensure spectators, officials, and players are safe, and aware of what to do and how to respond to incidents of spectator racism,” Chin Tan said.
Neos Kosmos asked the media representative of Football Australia why they had not signed onto the AHRC guidelines, but no indication was provided as to when the federation would sign.
Craig Foster said that when racism appears football has no mechanism to deal with it.
“When racism rears its head, football doesn’t have the mechanics, to be deal with it effectively. This goes to the mechanics.”
“Here the game of football is used to, and prefers, as do many sports, to administer its own medicine,” Foster said to Neos Kosmos.
The football great and former Sydney Croatia player said that action must include the danger of taking a club’s license away in situations where it is found they have harboured organised racist groups.
A second lifetime ban
On Friday Football Australia issued a second lifetime ban to a spectator from attending Football Australia-sanctioned football matches stating that the conduct in question relates to a fascist salute or similar gesture conducted during the match.
In its statement Football Australia was also expecting to receive submissions from Sydney United 58 FC in respect to a show-cause notice issued in respect to certain crowd behaviour during the Australia Cup 2022 Final.