The FFA's massive breach of privacy in allowing their banned supporter list to be leaked to the media is a damning indictment on those who run the league.
Note: I preface this opinion post with a 'disclaimer' that it represents myself only, not the RBB, or Wanderers supporters as a whole, or the members of WSF.
Unless you were living under a rock, you would almost surely have heard this week that repeat drink driving offender and known anti-football troll Rebecca Wilson released a story revealing the names and in many cases, photographs, of various people that Football Federation Australia have given multi-year bans against. The fact that this draconian ban process is replete with cases of wrongful banning, that it includes minors, and that allegedly, that photographs don't always match the name did not matter to Wilson the bottom feeding guttersnipe. 2GB shock jock Alan Jones joined in to equate football supporters with terrorists in a radio interview with Wilson. Jones, a man charged in 2006 with 'outraging public decency' and 'committing an indecent act' in a London public toilet, along with his unethical "Cash for Comment" affair, and finally, a member of the SCG Trust.
The SCG Trust also contains John Hartigan. The partner of one Rebecca Wilson.
I will leave you to draw your own conclusions as to the source of the leak, although well placed sources in the media have stated that it was very unlikely to be either the Police or the FFA itself.
No-one would expect that the truth or natural justice would ever matter to Wilson, as her sole reason for writing about football is to denigrate it, to attack it, and to create click bait articles devoid of journalistic or even common personal integrity. I will not be linking these articles. Nor would it matter to Jones, considering the Cash for Comment affair, where paid advertising was presented by Jones in a manner that suggested editorial and personally supportive commentary, not to mention his hypocrisy when one considers his own personal behaviour (which would be his own business if not for how he goes about denigrating others when evidence is lacking).
The biggest problem is that the FFA does not care. The FFA doesn't care that their bans are often unsupported by evidence. They do not care when the Police admit evidence used to charge and subsequently ban (with information being passed onto the FFA by the Police) a supporter is overturned or shown to be incorrect in a court of law. The FFA do not overturn bans. There is no appeal process. You could have conclusive evidence to show that you were not in the stadium, the state or even the country at the time of the offence, and the FFA would not listen.
There is no appeal. The FFA is judge, jury and executioner, banning innocent people from football, for lengths up to an included several decades. We have gone over this before. Damien De Bohun has repeatedly stated that he 'will listen' to anyone who has a problem. I doubt he has ever made good on his word. The newest failure by the FFA is that they have allowed the banned list to be leaked to the media. They were allegedly aware a week in advance of the original story being written. If so, they did nothing.
The FFA have breached their own privacy guidelines, in allowing the list to be leaked, they have failed to keep control over these highly damaging lists. Which have seen innocent people slandered in the media, labelled regardless of evidence as criminals, and in the case of Jones, likened to terrorists.
The only statement from the FFA thus far is a short sentence which ignores the breach of privacy, fails to defend the supporters of football from these vicious attacks. It as usual, ignores the massive flaws in their banning process, and instead gladhands to the anti-football media and pats itself on the back for having a 'robust' ban process, despite the clear flaws and lack of natural justice inherent in this process.
To the Western Sydney Wanderers, I call on the club to revoke all media access for Daily Telegraph and related employees, and to remove all signage and sponsorship at Wanderers matches. All football supporters should boycott the Daily Telegraph until the day it dies a long overdue death. That trash tabloid needs to lose as much money as possible, and no respectable football supporter should give them a cent.
The FFA's lack of respect and of justice has gone on long enough. I fully expect multiple supporter groups to protest against the FFA. I believe the response to this incredible failure of the FFA to defend football could or should take several forms. I believe that only as a united group, of all supporters, coming together, can any real change be achieved.
The FFA should revoke media access for the Daily Telegraph until an apology is presented. It must defend football supporters from the baseless accusations and comparisons to terrorism by the anti-football media.
The FFA must apologise for allowing these details to be leaked, to investigate where the leak came from and if possible, prosecute the offender. The FFA needs to show all the members of the "football family" that their own personal details are safe against being leaked in a similar manner.
The FFA needs to introduce a neutral appeal process that allows those banned to overturn unjust bans.
Damien De Bohun must resign, it is a disgrace that he has allowed this sensationalist garbage to be spouted on his watch, using details he is meant to protect. If he refuses, I call on new FFA Chairman Steven Lowy to sack De Bohun with immediate effect.
If the FFA fail to take this matter seriously (and sadly, they will not take it seriously at all unless forced to), I have no doubt in my mind that the supporter groups that the FFA take for granted will join together and take action. This action could include but isn't limited to an ongoing boycott of any Australian national team match, a boycott of the FFA owned Newcastle Jets, refusal to participate in active support, a boycott of away matches, and should this go on long enough, a full boycott of all matches and club memberships while the FFA continue to ignore this dire situation.
If it does get that bad, I can only say that the FFA have brought this upon themselves.
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