(REMY DAVIES is an A-League fan, North Terrace regular and BPL Citizen Journalist.) 

At home via the television or live at the stadium spectators watching last Wednesday's clash between Melbourne Victory and Newcastle Jets will have noticed something eerily unusual about the match. Absent were the normally loud, colourful, and energetic 'North Terrace', a collective of Melbourne Victory supporter groups who draw inspiration from the Continental and South American Ultras.

Despite the novelty of being able to hear the coaches shouts and commands, football fans viewed the match in the moribund silence of Etihad Stadium. Where was the North Terrace? As the match begun a large portion of terrace regulars could be seen on level three above where they normally stand on level one. They clapped a rhythmic applause as they hoisted a banner which read 'No fans, no past, no future. Without us you are nothing'.

The banner was then torn down and taken away by large group of full navy-suited police who hemmed in the small group of supporters forced to sit down for the rest of the match. All banners were banned it seems that day and not just for the North Terrace, with official Melbourne Victory merchandise flags being taken away, even from children, by police and security.

How did things get like this for the supporter group largely regarded as the best in the A-League? Wednesday night's silent protest by the North Terrace collective can largely be attribute to events that occurred in the previous match against Gold Coast United at AAMI Park, though in reality the discontent has been more of a build up over several years.

The Gold Coast match was the tipping point for the fans who claim to be the receivers of heavy handed tactics and treatment by Victoria Police and the stadium security and are distressed at the misunderstanding of what active support is by officials of the club they support. For the first 15 minutes of the match the North Terrace staged a silent, sit down protest after a sub-group of their collective, 'Horda', was banned.

The North Terrace was further agitated that day by the club banning all flags, banners, and megaphones—all essential ingredients for a team uplifting Curva. In this atmosphere of agitation a kerfuffle broke out between a police officer and fans on the top deck of the terrace after the officer decided to step in on a minor incident between two joking mates which then resulted in dozens of security and fans getting into a blue.

"We are not criminals, we are not criminals!" chanted a huddled together North Terrace from the top of the stands that day. And yet arguably they are being treated like criminals. Anecdotes are plentiful of fans being roughed up by security and even VicPolice. Mass bannings are frequent and often the evicted and banned claim to be wrongly convicted—stuff which is all easy to dismiss as exaggerated or fabricated until it happens to you or someone you know. Often in attendance at Victory games is the security consultant firm ‘Hatamoto' hired by the FFA to build up a database of profiles of football fans—with those deemed troublemakers subsequently banned by the FFA. The actions of the firm are derided by many Victory fans as overtop and an invasion of privacy.

Most of the problems that have caused the North Terrace to go on strike are due to the FFA's determination to present its league as squeaky clean and trouble free, which all very good and well is hurting the fan made culture that has developed in the last six years the A-League has been around.

While happy to benefit from the images of the North Terrace in their ‘Fan Made' TV advertising campaign, the FFA has shown that it'll happily settle for a more placid and controllable AFL-style cheer squad. The FFA must realize that the standard of football in the A-League is not enough to attract attendances alone and that the A-League's atmosphere is largely what it has over AFL matches. People come to the match for the atmosphere, they have a better view on TV at home. The financial benefit the North Terrace brings to the league should not be underestimated. Megaphones, flags, banners, large scale pullovers should all be encouraged.

The FFA must also re-look at their security arrangements at matches. There are trained professionals who know how to deal with football crowds—the methodology has been worked on for many years abroad, professionals who understand the ‘group mentality' of football fans. Professionals who know not to further agitate an already agitated people and who don't use needless shows of force. If a flare is lit, just extinguish it and arrest the culprit on their way out of the stadium in a subtle way—and make sure you have the right person.

The club called a meeting with representatives from the North Terrace last Monday night—apparently brokered by team captain Kevin Muscat.

And while it may lead to some small changes, it unlikely that many of the issues will be fixed anytime soon, if indeed at all.