Head of the A-League Damien De Bohun has responded to the explosive ‘football fan shame’ article in Sunday’s Daily Telegraph, re-affirming the FFA’s stance on anti-social behaviour protocol but suggesting lines have been blurred with the reporting of figures.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Football Show following Rebecca Wilson’s article on Sunday which named and shamed almost 190 banned A-League fans, some of them underage, De Bohun was on the front foot and pleaded with the Australian football fraternity to think of the majority.
“It has been a busy few days as you’ve suggested. The reality is we make no apology whatsoever for being tough on anti-social behaviour by fans but we really have to remember we are talking about an overwhelmingly small minority of people who have engaged in this,” he said.
“We had nearly 1.8 million people come through the gates of the A-League last year and the article you’re talking about lists some 190 odd fans over four or five season who have been banned. When you do the numbers that is an incredibly small proportion.”
“There are literally millions of fans who come to our matches and have a wonderful time, who support their team brilliantly and who really provide that unique experience that sets apart the Hyundai A-League from all other competitions in our country.”
Among other talking points, including the scheduling of A-League fixtures, TV rights and the Wellington Phoenix, De Bohun was also pressed about the lack of an appeal process for fans and said “one thing I can assure is that people don’t receive bans unless there’s absolutely clear evidence of what’s transpired.”
“The reality is when people have found that (bans) not to be appropriate, they can raise it with their club but you can be rest assured there is a very clear sense of what’s transpired when people receive bans.”
“This is quite clearly something that is a societal issue, not just a football issue.”
Listen to the FULL interview below:
Originally published as ‘Damien De Bohun: “Overwhelmingly small minority” ruining it for “millions”‘
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