Melbourne Victory fans at Saturday night's game against western Sydney Wanderers (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images) Source: The Daily Telegraph
SOCCER thugs should be banned from the sport for life if they repeatedly misbehave, Ted Baillieu says.
And recent violent outbreaks at soccer matches have been described by the Premier as "absolute acts of bastardry".
A police officer was punched during Saturday night's match between Melbourne Victory and the Western Sydney Wanderers, which was also marred by dozens of hooligans and saw police use capsicum spray.
Police have revealed that many trouble-makers are "known" to them and will be targeted in the future if they misbehave.
Launching a new television advertisement to raise awareness of an anti-violence campaign, Mr Baillieu called for clubs to do as much as possible to crack down on hooligans.
"To work with Victoria Police to identify anybody who commits these absolute acts of bastardry and thuggery and get them out of our grounds, get them out of our game, and restore sport in soccer fields to a level of dignity," he said.
"Any more that the clubs can do, should be done.''
Clubs should act to ensure thugs acting in this way "do not get in the gate", he said.
Mr Baillieu, who is a Melbourne Victory member and a self-confessed sports fan, said: "I absolutely deplore what I have seen".
"They have demonstrated an ugly, ugly side, which we don't want to have any part of in this country, and certainly not in this state," he said.
"It's completely foreign to the basis... of sports culture in Victoria.
"You probably have to be a psychiatrist to understand the motive of some of these people, but the anecdotal evidence I have seen myself is... there are some people who go to the game to do just that - they have precious little interest in the sport."
"It is just digraceful."
He said if this behaviour continues, "there's a problem".
"These people have got to be out of the (grounds), never get in," he said.
"Not banned for six months, twelve months - never get in.
"Keep them away from sport.
"I think we need a lot more attention on who these people are."
Deputy Commissioner Graham Ashton said that Victoria Police was assessing plans to run targeted operations at soccer matches, using intelligence gathered in recent weeks from an ``escalating series of violent actions".
"Those particular people of late, have been coming in, just as the premier said, not to actually watch the soccer but these are people who are known to us through other activities that are coming in to try to incite unlawful activity," he said.
"We do know a lot of these people and we have got to know them better in the last couple of weeks."
Some of the people that were known to police had disrupted other "public events", he said.
This morning, North West Metro region Inspector Geoff Colsell said a group of spectators who call themselves Horda were seemingly attempting to recreate the notorious soccer hooliganism of the 1980s with their latest behaviour.
"It's concerning for us but we've been working with all the stakeholders to try to resolve it, but as I say it's just this one sub-group, this ultra group," Inspector Colsell told 3AW.
“It's just not all the active Victory supporters, it’s just one sub-group really that's a concern to us," he said.
"I'm just starting to understand soccer, but I think they're trying to emulate some of the soccer antics of the '80s with this sort of behaviour."
"That's their clear intention. They just go out to cause trouble."
But it was Western Sydney supporters who were to blame for a number of flares being released throughout the game, Insp Colsell said.
Two women were treated for smoke inhalation as a result.
"The flares were set off in the Wester Sydney quadrant for active supporters down there."
Insp Colsell said things became ugly on Saturday night when police stepped in to help stadium security guards who were being targeted by supporters.
"The crowd surged towards a security guard or some security personnel."
"Police intervened, obviously, to support the security and then the crowd then turned on the police and we had to deploy OC foam."
Insp Colsell said police were considering increasing fines for unruly behaviour at soccer matches in a bid to stamp it out.
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