By MATT SUN
March 17, 2005
TENSIONS between fans of the Croatian-backed Sydney United and the Serbian-backed Bonnyrigg White Eagles soccer clubs continue to flare on internet forum websites.
Racial slurs, threats of violence and fans urging one another to bring weapons to Sunday's game were posted on sites intended for the discussion of soccer issues.
One message on a forum site discussing Sunday's clash said: "I was with some Cros on Fri night who were saying they were going to the game with knuckle-dusters.
A reply reads: "Serbs were the ones saying to each other bring machetes, poles etc in case the Cros try anything funny."
Forum sites allow users to write and reply to messages displayed on a website, which can be viewed by anyone. Visitors can use a nickname to protect their identity.
While discussion of the riot and the attack on the Serbian National Centre Club has dominated the forum sites, messages posted before the match also warned fans of potential trouble.
The sites are intended for fans to discuss the progress of their teams but are are mostly used to post disparaging remarks about Croatians and Serbians. A United Legion forum user wrote after a dozen bullets were fired at the club: "I think it's common knowledge that evri1 [everyone] hates Serbs. They have too many enemies to pinpoint down just one."
Moderators of the United Legion and Bonnyrigg White Eagles forums have been forced to ask users to tone down racial remarks made in the lead up to and after crowd clashes at Edensor Park on Sunday.
The Bonnyrigg forum moderator posted this message last week: "On this forum I don't want any racist comments made for no reason.
"I don't want any talk about fights at games or bringing flares or flags that are not Australian.
"Let the Croatians look bad, not us."
Topics posted after Sunday's game deal almost exclusively with the crowd's behaviour, with almost no mention of the match itself.
Fans are also posting photographs taken at the game, prompting moderators to ask users to "blur out" faces before uploading the pictures.
Many "posters" are also debating whether the incident was "a riot or a scuffle", claiming the clashes have been "blown out of proportion".
Police yesterday formed strike force Creekside, based in Fairfield Local Area Command, to investigate Sunday's incident.
Guns out in soccer violence
16.03.05
SYDNEY - Violence between supporters of two rival Sydney soccer clubs escalated to firebombs and gunshots yesterday.
The latest incidents could lead to life bans for offenders, or empty stadiums when the ethnically-based clubs meet again.
A match on Sunday between the Croatian-backed Sydney United and the Serbian-supported Bonnyrigg White Eagles was marred by clashes between 50 rival supporters, despite the presence of 100 police and security guards in a crowd of 3500.
Tensions between the clubs reached potentially deadly heights yesterday when a car was gutted and a clubhouse peppered with bullets.
Twelve shots were fired into the White Eagles' clubhouse at Bonnyrigg a few hours after a car was set alight outside Sydney United's club in Edensor Park, police said.
The White Eagles' clubhouse, less than 1km from Sydney United's ground, in the city's south-west, was empty at the time of the shooting.
Fairfield police commander Peter Marcon said the shooting appeared to be a tit-for-tat retaliation.
"But I think there are other options we need to look at," he said. "It could be someone just trying to cause trouble between the groups."
No one was injured in either attack but the escalation had police calling for calm, and NSW Police Minister Carl Scully proposing life bans for sports hooligans.
"If legislation is needed to back up those bans, so that we can enforce it and provide offences of a criminal nature if people insist on visiting grounds that they've been banned from, we'll provide that," Mr Scully said.
The board of Soccer NSW will meet tonight to investigate the violence.
Soccer NSW president Tom Doumanis said the inquiry would investigate the riot at the game and provide recommendations on how to prevent future violence.
He would not rule out banning all fans from attending matches between the two clubs.
- AAP
Edited by stereotip, 16 March 2005 - 23:20.
