WESTERN Sydney Wanderers' Red and Black Bloc have been stripped off their matchday rights after the FFA cracked down on them over flares and objects thrown on the pitch.
A series of incidents in recent weeks have seen the growing active support base involved in a number of violations of the spectator codes, including last week's flare at a W-League game on a total fire ban day.
Other matches have seen more flares as well as bottles - some apparently containing a yellow liquid - thrown on the pitch.
This week representatives of the fans were called in for a meeting with club and FFA officials and told their matchday "concessions" were being withdrawn until further notice.
The ruling means a ban on large flags, instruments, megaphones and tifos - pre-arranged organised spectacles, usually just before kick-off.
The Western Sydney Wanderers support has been one of the success stories of the A-League, gathering a healthy following within months of the club being created.
The Red and Black Bloc have been a key part of that, addng noise and colour to Parramatta Stadium with an ever inceasing and vocal following.
But the repeated use of flares - allegedly by non-RBB members - has put pressure on the FFA to act.
In a message to fans on the RBB forum, the group admitted: "We’ve had a lot of flares and have got away with blue murder to date....[now] we have lost everything.
"The club is no longer able to decide whether or not we have our match day equipment. The club and the FFA can still have an influence on the police and stadium on our behalf.
"The ball is very much in our court now and the club and FFA have told us precisely what WE ALL need to do...No anti-social behaviour is the overarching message."
All flares are banned completely with a zero tolerance policy in force if the group ever wants to gets its matchday rights back again.
Also banned are unauthorised tifos that have not had prior approval by club and stadium officials, as well as swearing through megaphones and rowdy "moshing" celebrations that could cause injury or damage.
The supporters are now braced for intense police and security attention at future matches until they can prove their behaviour meets FFA and stadium expectations.
But they are also exploring an option where RBB members can be identified by wristbands to weed out any rogue elements infiltrating the group and tarnishing their reputation.
Anyone without the wristband will be prevented by secuity from entering the RBB bays, and police will instantly be able to identify if anyone arrested is an RBB member.
"Our ONLY chance at earning the ability to make a tifo for the next home derby is to prove that we can manage Bay 56, to show that we have a strong core who understand what we are trying to achieve and will not screw it up for everyone else through selfish actions," added the group.
"The RBB is and always will be bigger than any one individual. Don’t be selfish and ruin it for the entire home end. Too much hard work has been put in by many, many, many people.
"I urge you all to take this very seriously."
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