THERE was carnage at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday night.

Perched in the stands but close to where the trouble first started, I caught a first-hand view from the moment the drama unfolded. There was rising angst and then there was anger. Later there was violence. Sickening blows were struck. It was a shocking scene to behold.

But enough about Adelaide United's on-field performance.

It's the off-field, crowd trouble that has yet again grabbed a lot of the headlines (certainly in Adelaide) this week. Another Reds vs Victory match and again there were idiots misbehaving and trouble-makers being arrested. Ho hum.

Local journalist Tim Hilferty was particularly scathing in his assessment of what transpired. Tim had seated himself in the vicinity of the 'no go zone', where the "ultras" red and the passionate blue supporters from Victoria were always destined to become acquainted.

Writing on The Punch website he says: "I was going to take my six-year-old boy to the soccer on Friday night, but I decided not to. After what I witnessed at the Adelaide United - Melbourne Victory game at Hindmarsh Stadium, I doubt we'll go to a game together this season. And that should be a huge concern for Adelaide United and the A-League."

Reportedly there were instances of blatant swearing (at rival supporters, as opposed to the sort generally being directed at the players in Red), drink bottles and coins being thrown (donations perhaps? The club does need the money) and some Reds' fans who were dancing around a lit flare after the game (imagine what they might have done if we'd won!).

Tim goes on to acknowledge that "the strange thing about this atmosphere of hate that both sets of supporters tried so hard to create, was that I never felt intimidated by it. It was just so comical, so staged. It was like a pantomime."

And also, "among all this baying for blood, there was very little actual violence. There was one fight between rival supporters, quickly broken up, and a few people asked to leave the ground tried to wrestle with the police."

Now I don't mean to make light of the nasty incidents that allegedly did occur, but don't six-year olds enjoy pantomimes? There were definitely some unsavoury moments, I witnessed them myself, but in the scheme of things, they were minor.

Adelaide United tried to enforce the "family-friendly" message pre-match but maybe the answer is to have certain family-friendly zones in the stadium. So if people are worried they can sit safely in an area where all swearing, drinking and Melbourne Victory goals are banned.

The problem with this whole issue is that it's a Catch 22 situation. We want to encourage the passion and the colour and the chanting and the club rivalries at our A-League matches but in doing that, we take the risk that some people will push things a bit too far.

Personally I'm happy to take that risk if it means than we minimise boring, sterile stadium environments. The rivalry between Melbourne and Adelaide is fantastic and long may it continue.

Just a tip lads - you're probably better off making donations at the club office during the week rather than openly displaying your fiscal support during the match!