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http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/blogs/halftimeorange/olympiacosmelbourne-match-a-red-rag-for-trouble-173043/
OlympiacosMelbourne match a red rag for trouble
By Half Time Orange - Jesse Fink
20 February 2009 | 12:17
Word going round the traps for the past fortnight, and hinted at publicly in the press Friday, is that Greek side Olympiacos has confirmed a deal with Melbourne Victory to play in the Victorian capital during the A-League off-season.
It is expected an official announcement about the match will be made next week.
But is it a good idea?
As one football-identity friend remarked to me during the week, "It's an invitation for 15,000 'Macos' to come out with flares and cause trouble."
And while the scenario of a high-calibre European side duking it out with the best side in Australia is certainly an appealing one, I tend to agree with him.
If the authorities had enough trouble controlling the ethnically charged dust-ups at this and last year's Australian Open Tennis Championships at Melbourne Park, Football Federation Australia and the Victorian Police are set for more of the same if this game goes ahead.
As we saw at the Australia v Greece friendly in 2006 at the MCG, even supporting the Greek national team whips up fervour among those who want to engage in Byzantine point-scoring.
There is some difference from the tennis, of course, in that this is not effectively Serbia v Croatia or Serbia v Bosnia - the most typical source of crowd strife.
But Victory players Billy Celeski and Daniel Vasilevski are Macedonian, and while they have Greek team-mates in Michael Theoklitos and Steve Pantelidis, their background is still a convenient excuse for anyone so inclined to stir up ancient enmities under the cloak of "supporting" a football match.
The National Soccer League was not immune from such crowd trouble, with Preston Makedonia (now Preston Lions) and South Melbourne playing host to a series of conflagrations over the years, one as recently as 2005 in the Victorian Premier League.
So is it really the most sensible thing for the FFA to sanction this match when it has been so concerned with shedding the baggage of "old soccer" and putting forward an image of football as all-inclusive, family-friendly and free of ethnic-related trouble?
As for Greek fans who want to beat their chests over their Macedonian rivals, there could hardly be a bigger wagon on which to hitch than Olympiacos. It's by far the most storied club in the history of Greek football and the most popular.
For a large part of the crowd who will be there, Olympiacos will represent Hellas in all but name.
Undoubtedly the FFA will place a pre-match ban on fans carrying or wearing any nationalistic symbols, but some will slip through, as did the flares that we saw at the Greece match in 2006.
Yet if the FFA was really serious about protecting the brand of the A-League and the good reputation football has worked so hard to earn, it wouldn't even countenance this game in the first place.
In my opinion, there is just too much risk. And for an organisation that is renowned for not taking risks, this is perhaps one of the biggest they could make.
:
Interesting the link is no longer valid......
OlympiacosMelbourne match a red rag for trouble
By Half Time Orange - Jesse Fink
20 February 2009 | 12:17
Word going round the traps for the past fortnight, and hinted at publicly in the press Friday, is that Greek side Olympiacos has confirmed a deal with Melbourne Victory to play in the Victorian capital during the A-League off-season.
It is expected an official announcement about the match will be made next week.
But is it a good idea?
As one football-identity friend remarked to me during the week, "It's an invitation for 15,000 'Macos' to come out with flares and cause trouble."
And while the scenario of a high-calibre European side duking it out with the best side in Australia is certainly an appealing one, I tend to agree with him.
If the authorities had enough trouble controlling the ethnically charged dust-ups at this and last year's Australian Open Tennis Championships at Melbourne Park, Football Federation Australia and the Victorian Police are set for more of the same if this game goes ahead.
As we saw at the Australia v Greece friendly in 2006 at the MCG, even supporting the Greek national team whips up fervour among those who want to engage in Byzantine point-scoring.
There is some difference from the tennis, of course, in that this is not effectively Serbia v Croatia or Serbia v Bosnia - the most typical source of crowd strife.
But Victory players Billy Celeski and Daniel Vasilevski are Macedonian, and while they have Greek team-mates in Michael Theoklitos and Steve Pantelidis, their background is still a convenient excuse for anyone so inclined to stir up ancient enmities under the cloak of "supporting" a football match.
The National Soccer League was not immune from such crowd trouble, with Preston Makedonia (now Preston Lions) and South Melbourne playing host to a series of conflagrations over the years, one as recently as 2005 in the Victorian Premier League.
So is it really the most sensible thing for the FFA to sanction this match when it has been so concerned with shedding the baggage of "old soccer" and putting forward an image of football as all-inclusive, family-friendly and free of ethnic-related trouble?
As for Greek fans who want to beat their chests over their Macedonian rivals, there could hardly be a bigger wagon on which to hitch than Olympiacos. It's by far the most storied club in the history of Greek football and the most popular.
For a large part of the crowd who will be there, Olympiacos will represent Hellas in all but name.
Undoubtedly the FFA will place a pre-match ban on fans carrying or wearing any nationalistic symbols, but some will slip through, as did the flares that we saw at the Greece match in 2006.
Yet if the FFA was really serious about protecting the brand of the A-League and the good reputation football has worked so hard to earn, it wouldn't even countenance this game in the first place.
In my opinion, there is just too much risk. And for an organisation that is renowned for not taking risks, this is perhaps one of the biggest they could make.
:
Interesting the link is no longer valid......
