NSW Police launch task force to investigate violence at NPL NSW Premier League match

A man has been charged and NSW Police are looking for other suspects after several people were injured during a brawl between rival spectators at the close of a National Premier Leagues NSW Men's 1 football match game in Sydney’s south on Sunday.

NSW Police have formed Strike Force Azure to investigate the violence having been called to Bicentennial Park on West Botany Street, Rockdale, just after 5pm yesterday after multiple incidents between fans of home team Rockdale Ilinden and Sydney United 58.

They dispersed the crowd while three men were taken to St George Hospital with minor injuries.

The incident was preceded by a fan having entered the playing field during an in-match fracas between players.

After the game, tables, plastic crates, metal objects and lit flares were thrown between the rival fans when the confrontation escalated in an adjacent car park.

Images and video circulated on social media also showed one man standing with a metal object, understood to be a lawnmower blade, in his hand.

With NSW Police involved, that man is understood to have been arrested and to have been charged with being armed with intent to commit an indictable offence and riot.

NSW Police are also calling on the public to help identify up to seven people seen in video footage.

NSW Police Detective Superintendent Tony Cooke said the incident happened after a spectator "entered the field of play and interfered with one of the players" during the match.

Detective Superintendent Cooke went on to say “he was ejected from the playing field, that clearly sparked some tension, but … that is no excuse to behave in the way that these people did.

"To say that I'm disgusted by the behaviour is an understatement."

Speaking about those who appeared to be armed, Detective Superintendent Cooke added “very clearly a person armed himself with a brick, another person had an iron bar in his hand. One of these individuals who armed himself with a large iron tub.

"We're very fortunate that there was no serious injury."

He continued “to think that it happened on such a hallowed day for us is just disgraceful.

"It's the morons that spoil things for the rest of us. This was a very small percentage of people at the ground."

Having met with Football NSW and representatives from both clubs, who were supportive of ridding the game of troublemaking fans, Detective Superintendent Cooke also stated “they're not sports fans, they're not wanted here, they're not wanted at any fixture and that's what will occur.”

He said there was no indication at this stage that any players or club officials had been involved in the brawl.

After the game, a statement on Rockdale Ilinden’s Facebook page advised “the club is aware of incidents at the conclusion of today’s NPL fixture v Sydney United. The matter is the subject of a police investigation and as such we will not be commenting further pending completion of that investigation, suffice to say that the club strongly does not condone anti-social and criminal behaviour.”

State governing body Football NSW said it condemned “any anti-social behaviour and any form of violence”, noting “Football NSW has opened an investigation into these incidents and is working closely with local police and both clubs to identify the perpetrators.”

Football Australia also condemned the violence and anti-social behaviour advising that it has “a zero-tolerance policy in relation to discrimination, vilification, hatred and violence”.

It also noted “Football Australia will continue to work with NSW Police and Football New South Wales to identify the individuals involved in the deplorable scenes. Moreover, Football Australia will support and will take steps to ensure the strongest possible sanctions within its power on any person, or persons, identified to have engaged in anti-social or criminal behaviour at the match, including banning those individuals from attending any football match or participating in football activities in Australia.

“Under the National Code of Conduct, clubs may also be held liable for the actions of their supporters. Football Australia will also support and take steps to ensure the strongest possible sanctions are imposed on the clubs should they be found to have breached the National Code of Conduct.”

Previous incident
Australasian Leisure Management is aware of reports that Sydney United 58 fans were involved in a fracas during the team’s fixture with Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC in Western Sydney the previous week.

In years prior, there have been incidents involving national rivalries surrounding the national and ethnic allegiances of NPL NSW clubs, particularly those with associations with the former Yugoslavia.

Clashes between fans of Sydney United (with Croatian allegiances) and Bonnyrigg White Eagles (with Serbian allegiances) have led to fan violence and fixtures being held behind closed doors and while Bonnyrigg no longer play in the same division, Rockdale Ilinden’s allegiances with North Macedonia may well have been a contributory factor in yesterday’s violence.

It is certainly true that as recently as the 2020 NPL NSW season, music played at Sydney United’s Edensor Park ground before, after and at half time during home fixtures included ultra nationalist tunes sung in Croatian by Croatian star Marko ‘Thompson’ Perković.

Thompson’s songs include references to war crimes and Croatia’s Second World War neo-Nazi Ustaše regime and have seen him accused by bodies including the Simon Wiesenthal Center of being a "fascist singer".

Thompson’s has used the Ustaše chant ‘Za dom spremni’ (‘Ready for the Home[land]’) in his songs while in 2009, he released a Ustaše-praising song, ‘Jasenovac and Gradiska Stara’ - the names of Ustaše concentration camps.

Crime Stoppers 
Anyone with information about Sunday’s incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. 

Images: A fan invades the pitch during yesterday's match between Rockdale Ilinden and Sydney United 58 at Bicentennial Park (top) and a man apparently armed during incidents after the game (below).