Similar typefaces, font size and layout. And, while the slogans themselves took vastly different tacts — ranging from mathematical ("No Fans = No Football") and alliterative ("terraces, not terrorists") to the easily easily misinterpreted ("we stand by the 198") and beautifully poetic ("don't bury your heads in the sand, we've listed our demands") — there remained one common voice. It wasn't that of a solitary person yelling. They also weren't setting fire to anything with a flare or even standing on an almost indestructible stadium seat and clapping enthusiastically loud (probably too loud). No, it was a calm voice. And consistent. With just a slight hint of concern: "hey FFA, what the fuck are you doing?"
Last weekend's A-League protest was unprecedented. Across every game of the round (yep, all five of them) fans voiced their concern about the lack of action from the sport's governing body — the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) — in regards to the recent naming, shaming and terrorism accusations of the nearly 200 fans currently barred from attending games.
Initially, the fallout focused entirely on the actual publication: it's legality — some of those named were under the age of 18 — and the author, Rebecca Wilson. Thy beloved Wanderers hit back with one of their best banners in a long time: "Rebecca Wilson: worry about an RBT not the RBB", in reference to Wilson's Wilson's multiple past drink-driving charges.
Of course, quicker than you could say "pen pals forever", shock-jock radio host, Alan Jones, jumped at the opportunity to leverage the illiberal article for his own agenda — presumably the threat soccer poses to his beloved league and union codes. Last week, during an interview with Wilson he put forward the question: "Is this like terrorism in Paris?"
Sure, it's the kind of insane bigoted demagoguery we've come to expect from Jones. After all, this is same idiot who played a pivotal role in inciting the 2005 Sydney race riots by reading text messages on air encouraging people to "get down to North Cronulla to support the Leb and wog bashing day". Yet, Jones' flame-feeding comparison between the devastating recent events in France and the actions of a few supporters was evidently the final straw for the active supporter groups.
At some stage towards the end of last week, representatives from Western Sydney's Red and Black Bloc and Melbourne Victory's North Terrace — two of the biggest supporter groups in the league — hosted private discussions for amalgamated plans of protest. Sworn enemies since the introduction of the Sydney side in 2012, they now both claimed boasted of a "united in justice" bipartisanism, releasing a joint statement on Saturday which outlined their primary focus was not with the inflammatory article, but the fact it highlighted an ongoing issue with the FFA and the absence of any clear appeals process for banned fans.
In the Facebook post, the RBB explained that: "The countless letters and emails written to the FFA by unjustly banned football fans that have been ignored by the FFA, suggest overwhelmingly that the organisation has no interest in giving accused football fans a fair hearing."
The North Terrace fans walked out at the 30-minute mark during their away fixture in Adelaide, an action mirrored by the RBB the followed afternoon in Gosford. The rival fans in both games applauded the action, holding supportive banners and also taking a vow of silence. Even the Central Coast brass band paused from the usual routine - which includes a brilliant rendition of the Game of Thrones theme song — to stand united with the RBB as they quietly left the ground, watching the remaining hour of the game at a nearby leagues club.
The reaction was swift, yet completely misguided. A-League boss, Damien De Bohun, in an interview after Sunday's game, simply repeated the previous statements that if fans could prove they had been wrongfully banned, then their ban would be overturned. It was a clear sign that De Bohun and Co. weren't listening, missing (or choosing to overlook) one of the key arguments from fans during the week, where they highlighted the problem with the process being they didn't have access to the evidence (in most cases CCTV footage) that could potentially prove their innocence. FFA chief executive, David Gallop, further infuriated fans yesterday when he did little more than repeat the current guidelines - we won't prove your guilt, you will prove your own innocence, without access to any of the evidence.
And upon this further inaction, naturally, the fan's threats had only one option — raise the stakes.
Active supporter groups, including staunch rivals Sydney FC's The Cove and the RBB, have already announced that they'll boycott this weekend's matches entirely. Further still, they're calling on all fans to do the same.
In their latest press release, the RBB labeled Gallop's most recent statement as "shambolic", adding that the protest of non-attendance "is the only way to continue sending a strong message to the FFA that we will not stand for their inept administration of our game. The FFA cannot use the fans as a marketing tool but then continually mistreat them, while asking them to help grow the game. It is counter intuitive and hypocritical."
The Cove followed shortly after with their own response, echoing the same requests for a fair and transparent appeals process, as well as adding that "the FFA’s unwillingness to [take a stand] compromises their right to claim leadership". The Cove closed out the statement by also calling on their non-active fans to join the protest, or at least allow the strong message of an empty behind-the-goals area to be clearly presented. "We respect the rights of every fan group to decide how they wish to protest against fans treatment and we respect the right of every fan to decide whether to participate", the statement reads. "However we ask that those Sydney FC fans who do not wish to participate not undermine our protest and to leave our active bays empty."
More than anything else, its this unified response from the opposing fan groups that is most encouraging.
Rivalries empower the sport, but its enlightening to see these temporarily set aside when issues of more significance surface. For too long, the FFA has attempted to please all sides. Luring families to the game by presenting a no-tolerance front, a reactionary exercise in response to exaggerated media reports that clearly aim to align the game's most passionate supporters with an unsafe environment. While also frequently celebrating the same fervent fans in promotional material for the league, utilising the atmosphere created by these active groups as a way to entice sponsors. You can't have it both ways. And lets be perfectly clear — without the RBB, The Cove, North Terrace, the Mariners Marching Band and anyone else that chooses to cheer loudly rather than politely sit and clap, the game is a mere whimper to the spine-shivering roar it can so often be. Something that we'll all witness this weekend.