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Home / Sport / Football

Football: Security under fire after controversial eviction of fan during A-League semifinal

NZ Herald
14 May, 2019 04:25 AM5 mins to read

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Football fan Rory Carroll talks to security before being removed from the stadium. Photo / Twitter

Football fan Rory Carroll talks to security before being removed from the stadium. Photo / Twitter

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The A-League semifinal between Sydney FC and the Melbourne Victory was far from controversial, but the actions of security and NSW Police have come under fire on social media as one fan was escorted out of the ground.

Video footage uploaded to Twitter shows Sydney FC fan Rory Carroll surrounded by police before being escorted out of Netstrata Jubilee Stadium to a chorus of boos.

He alleges the escorting out followed what appeared to be an earlier incident with security when he said he tried to take his disabled daughter to the nearest toilet and was allegedly denied due to it possibly being in a restricted access area.

"Are you serious?" he says as the police talk to him.

"The disabled toilets, because my daughter needs it, are right there and they won't let me take my daughter through. That's what this is all about.

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"You guys want to kick me out because he said so (as he points at security) and I can't take my disabled daughter five metres."

Carroll took to his own Twitter account to explain his thoughts and alleged he was screamed at by stadium security and detailed the incident with police. He also tweeted the incident had "traumatised" his young daughter and he "had to console crying girls".

"Enough is enough. Our stadium tonight was filled with first time security guards, some clearly on power trips," Carroll wrote.

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"I know that some of those police officers did not wake up this morning expecting to be coming down so hard on 10 yr old troublemakers, but absurdly here we are.

"The question I now must ask myself is why bother taking my family to our stadiums?"

10 Uniformed Police and 4 security guards evict a father who wanted to take his disabled daughter to the closest toilet. @ALeague @9NewsSyd @SydneyFC #SYDvMVC #BigBlue #ALeague pic.twitter.com/MdXZSCv2Rq

— Tom Miles (@TomMile43729676) May 12, 2019

Another fan provided commentary on the incident in separate video and called it an "absolute joke".

A NSW Police spokesperson confirmed the incident and said it came about due to the refusal of Carroll to co-operate with requests around "seating protocols".

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"During an A-league game held at Jubilee Oval, Kogarah this evening, a male spectator was spoken to by security about seating protocols," NSW police said.

"Despite repeated requests by security, the man was unwilling to cooperate, police assistance was called, the man was spoken to by officers and after further refusal was escorted from the stadium with his family."

Speaking to Ray Hadley on 2GB radio this morning, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Walton disputed Carroll's claims, saying he was trying to get access to a grandstand area he did not have a ticket for.

"That man (Carroll) that has been tweeting today, I am confident from the advice I got he was trying to get into the grandstand on his own," Mr Walton said.

"He pushed past the marshals and security and that attracted security and police attention. Ultimately he went back to his seating area where due to his behaviour he was asked to leave.

"He was asked alone to leave, however, he has decided to leave with his family.

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"As police and security we are very sensitive to the needs of the disabled and I am confident if there was a need for a disabled person to go into an area where they didn't have a ticket for a proper purpose, they would be facilitated."

Football Federation Australia board member Joseph Carrozzi has said the FFA plans to investigate the incident and fellow board member Remo Nogarotto lashed out on social media.

"This is disgraceful and the FFA needs to make its outrage heard at a political level," he wrote on Twitter.

"If senior elements of the NSW Police can't see the absurdity and humiliation of tonights (sic) incident then their political masters need to intervene."

The video of the incident was labled "extremely distressing" by Australian author Nikki Gemmell on Nine's Today Show.

"It's extremely distressing to see this," she said.

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"This beautiful little girl sitting in front of her dad bewildered about what's going on. Then we see them getting walked out. The crowd's booing because they're on the family's side."

Today host Debora Knight described the video as "disturbing".

"This footage has emerged, quite disturbing, of an A-League fan being kicked out of a football match," she said.

"The Sydney father says he was just trying to take his disabled daughter to the closest bathroom, but was confronted by security because it was in a restricted access area."

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