Aussie rules says sorry to fans for stadium ‘behaviour’ surveillance

SYDNEY: The Australian Football League apologised to fans Tuesday amid angry complaints about overzealous “behavioural awareness officers” patrolling the crowds and rebuking boisterous fans.

AFL chief Gillon McLachlan said he was sorry fans felt security guards — some with the Orwellian-sounding titles printed on their vests — had “impinged” on their fun. Last weekend saw a spate of complaints about the “behavioural awareness officers” at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, prompting some uncharitable comparisons to notorious secret police services past and present.

AFL Fans Association president Gerry Eeman said: “some fans are telling us that they feel they can’t express themselves at games in the same way they did in the past”. One Carlton fan went as far as taping up his mouth in protest.

Aussie rules has long struggled with crowd behaviour, with boos and racist insults hurled at some of the sport’s leading indigenous stars. The AFL’s McLachlan said he wanted to “get the balance right” between making events family friendly and allowing spirited support for teams. “I apologise if the people who go along to the football to have a day out feel that they haven’t been able to do that,” he said.