A-League's active fans make the league what it is today Travelling Wanderers fans show their support for their team at Bluetongue Stadium Source: Getty Images THIS week at the Hyundai A-League Awards night, I presented a Fan Appreciation Award to a 65-year-old retired school teacher. Judith O'Brien is a part of the Red and Black Bloc, the active supporter group of the Western Sydney Wanderers. This delightful woman is a caring soul who's a club volunteer and helps marshal the RBB march into Parramatta Stadium. Judith is deserving of the award in her own right, but she was representing all the fans of the A-League. The Red and Black Bloc has been phenomenal this season, but so too have the Central Coast's Yellow and Gold Army, Sydney FC's The Cove and Newcastle's The Squadron. There are so many stories of passion and commitment. Like Graham O'Loughlin, the Mariners fan who volunteers his time to make lunch for players after each training session. He's an ever present. The humble stories of Judith and Graham show the real connection between our clubs and their communities. These stories also reveal the travesty committed by some who wish to paint the active supporters in the A-League as only young and out of control. This stereotype is unfair to so many. It suits only one purpose, to tar the image of the majority of active supporters because of the indiscretions of a very few. The A-League's active fans make the A-League what it is today. As FFA CEO, I will defend our true supporters and our competition from attacks by people who probably have never been to a match. However, when anti-social behaviour occurs at our venues, the response will be firm. I make no apologies for our zero-tolerance policy. This season we have banned more than a dozen people for periods of five to 12 years. They behaved poorly and have paid a high price. We have been asked about the prospect of competition points being put at risk. It remains an extreme option, but not one I expect to see invoked. Self-policing among active supporter groups is becoming the norm. Today the Red and Black Bloc and the Yellow and Gold Army will gather in huge numbers and make the grand final a unique and colourful affair. The sold-out crowd will provide an atmosphere like no other in Australian sport. The fans on the terraces are the heroes of the Hyundai A-League's best ever season.