Simon Says: there is no place for troublemakers in football and life bans are in order There's been a lot of debate since Saturday night's fixture. IT'S time to take a stand. I've been one of those football journalists more than ready to make public my frustration at the way minor incidents at A-League matches have been escalated into "riots" by an over-zealous (and at times, overwhelmingly hostile) mainstream media. I've been happy to point out the facts. That statistically, A-League games are no more dangerous for fans to attend than any other code of football, let alone cricket, where fan misbehaviour again went under-reported during the latest Ashes test. Passed off in the usual fashion as peripheral boisterousness, caused by alcohol and high-spirits. I'll defend football fans to the hilt, if they are being persecuted in isolation. But no-one - no-one - can condone what happened in Melbourne a couple of days ago, and wherever the blame lies, it's incumbent upon all of us, to ensure these idiots are weeded out. It's true that the troublemakers make up only 0.02% of an average crowd in either Melbourne or Sydney, but it's still too many. The rumour is that Victory fans stormed a Western Sydney pub in retaliation for a similar act in Parramatta in the corresponding fixture. Do two wrongs make a right? And who exactly are these "fans" who take it on their own shoulders to act outside the law? Worryingly, many of those involved are not known to Victory. In other words, they are not members of the club. That suggests a fringe criminal element is using football as a vehicle to conduct a campaign of lawlessness, a campaign that tarnishes the image of the game. They leave the law-abiding majority, who go to matches just to cheer their team, having to bear the consequences. Those consequences are blurted out like football tourettes in the comments section on the stories surrounding the mayhem. You know the drill - try not to nod off ... The game is boring so the fans fight. It's all the fault of the foreigners who are un-Australian. This never happens at AFL games. All of the above are untrue of course, but whether we like it or not, football is, to a large degree, stereotyped in Australia. It's something we have to live with and try to change by stealth, education and most importantly, by our actions. The advent (and success) of the A-League has allowed us to mount a strong challenge to those opinions, and so far, we've made excellent progress. Far too much progress to let a few morons let the prevailing view slide back into its former, entrenched position. Be in no doubt, if those stereotypes are allowed to rise to the fore again, it will kill the game's growth. Victory and Wanderers games provide two of the best football atmospheres of any code in Australia. The battle (figuratively speaking) in the stands when they meet, is one of the reasons why such games make for compulsive viewing. But supporters (if, indeed, that's what these people are), need to know where to draw the line. Vigilante strikes in pubs is not what proper fans are about. Nor is taking firecrackers and detonators into stadiums. Furthermore, active supporter groups must recognise that gripes over security and policing can only be resolved through negotiation and dialogue. Taking the law into their own hands only results in further tension and sanction. Fighting, or launching flares are not acts of big, tough men, they are the acts of immature lowlifes, who believe it earns them kudos in some sort of juvenile pissing contest. Make no mistake, there will be no "Barra Brava" type situation in Australia, whereby ultras rule sporting clubs through fear and intimidation. Society here simply won't allow such anarchy. Therefore, football should send a clear message to the rabble-rousers. What you're doing is illegal. It's not big, it's not clever, and no-one likes, or admires you. On the contrary, your downright dangerous anti-social behaviour disgusts everyone - and the sight of families cowering in terror should make you hang your collective thick heads in shame. Imagine your emotions if it was your child reduced to tears? Life bans should be introduced immediately by FFA for anyone found guilty of football-related trouble. The game is on the rise, and as it marches forward, the last thing it needs, or wants, is for hooliganism to re-emerge from the past like a putrid smell. Passion is not a crime, but breaking the law is. If that's your intention - go somewhere else. You're not welcome at the football.