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SA judge to chair appeals process for banned A-League fans

UPDATED: A prominent South Australian judge has been seconded to help solve the impasse between Football Federation Australia and disenchanted A-League fans – a move Adelaide United chairman Greg Griffin believes could be a catalyst for broader reform in Australian soccer.

Feb 16, 2016, updated Feb 16, 2016
Judge Rauf Soulio speaks in Canberra as Chair of the Australian Multicultural Council. Photo: Lukas Coch, AAP.

Judge Rauf Soulio speaks in Canberra as Chair of the Australian Multicultural Council. Photo: Lukas Coch, AAP.

District Court Judge Rauf Soulio will preside over a 12-person appeals panel, to which supporters barred from attending soccer matches by the FFA can plead their case.

Soulio is currently president of the Football Federation SA board, with his term set to expire next month.

Griffin – who is also a prominent Adelaide lawyer who both studied and worked with Soulio – told InDaily he holds him “in high regard” and is “incredibly impressed with the appointment”.

“It’s probably one of the best documents I’ve seen come out of the FFA… he’ll sort the wheat from the chaff,” he said.

“You’re going to need someone who will be able to ensure that justice is delivered and in a timely and fair way, and Rauf’s background [is ideal] – he’s done a lot of criminal law, he’s very good on the rules of evidence and he’s been involved in the game since he was a child – his brothers all played.”

But Griffin said he hoped the move would represent a broader shift in the way FFA handled disputes.

“Hopefully this will be the cornerstone for procedural fairness, not just in respect of the yobbo who lets off a flare or throws a bottle, but everyone in the game, including players and clubs,” he said.

“To afford them [ousted supporters] natural justice is a great credit to the FFA [but] that will hopefully be a catalyst for change throughout the entire organisation in terms of how it deals with all disputes.”

He noted that following yesterday’s decision the “yobbos have got more rights than players and clubs”, and argued that “all the tribunal-styled processes of the FFA [should now] be pulled into line so they’re no more, no less than is offered to anyone outside the game”.

The move followed a protracted standoff – which saw Adelaide United fans and others stage walk-outs during home games – after 198 fans were banned under previous FFA rules on antisocial behaviour, and named and shamed in the national press.

Those supporters can now appeal their suspensions retrospectively, after FFA yesterday unveiled a compromise process.

A-League fans accused of bad behaviour will be able to view evidence used against them and appeal to an independent body before being banned from stadiums.

Following a promised review, triggered by December’s fan boycotts, the governing body announced it had implemented the sweeping reforms it committed to in principle late last year.

Under the unpopular process previously in place, banned spectators were immediately issued with a banning notice and afforded no access to evidence nor any avenue of appeal.

As part of the new ‘innocent-until-proven-guilty’ policy, fans will be issued with an `intention to ban’ notice, including details of their alleged offences.

The accused perpetrator will be allowed to see the evidence against them wherever it is legally possible, and submit a written submission to be considered by FFA’s internal security committee.

Wanderer fans let off flares during the round 18 A-League match. Photo: David Crosling, AAP.

FFA is determined to stamp out bad behaviour, such as Wanderers fans letting off flares during this month’s round 18 match. Photo: David Crosling, AAP.

If the ban is maintained, they will then have an opportunity to take their case to the newly created Football Independent Banning Appeal Committee (FIBAC), made up of 12 prominent barristers and lawyers with no affiliation to any A-League club or player, with any three to sit at each case.

Judge Soulio will chair the panel, which will have the final say – and can either uphold FFA’s ban, dismiss it, or vary the severity.

The new procedure follows December’s emergency meeting held between FFA and all 10 of the A-League club’s active supporter groups over what they perceived as unfairness at the 198 currently banned fans’ lack of a right to appeal.

“It’s not an issue of kowtowing or acquiescing,” FFA chairman Steven Lowy said.

“A whole range of issues came up through circumstances that are well known, and I think we’ve addressed those issues very well… it’s a matter of adjusting, modifying and moving with the times, to have a process that addresses the issues in a way that the community feels is more appropriate.”

Chief executive David Gallop said FFA is committed to continue working with police, venues and other third parties to break down legal barriers in the circumstances that prevent access to evidence.

Gallop said active supporter groups had been largely supportive of the changes.

But while eight supporter groups met with FFA during the review, the biggest and most vocal groups – Western Sydney’s Red and Black Bloc and Melbourne Victory’s North Terrace – chose not to engage in the consultative process.

-with AAP

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