Opinion: anti-social behaviour in footy crowds must end

I witnessed the most revolting spectator behaviour I’ve ever experienced at an NRL game this weekend. It’s time men learned the rules of polite society still apply at the footy, Eliza Barr writes.

The hill at Leichhardt Oval before the Tigers v Sharks clash. There is no suggestion anyone pictured did anything wrong. Picture: Getty Images

• Tigers respond to abysmal fan behaviour

I’ve been attending NRL games since I was a little girl and after witnessing the most vile, offensive behaviour I have ever seen at a game last weekend, it’s time men learned the footy is not a magical place where the rules of polite society do not apply.

In our world you cannot get away with calling a stranger in the street a pussy and a gay c – t, or yelling at them in another language based on their ethnic appearance.

It would be entirely unacceptable to start singing made-up lyrics referring to sexually assaulting women or rough-housing so much you nearly take out the people around you.

Yet this is what I witnessed from a band of obviously intoxicated Tigers fans on the hill at Leichhardt Oval when the Tigers played the Sharks on Saturday.

Cards on the table: I’m a Sharks fan, but I have been attending Tigers games at Leichhardt Oval since childhood due to a long line of Balmain fans in my family.

On the hill I witnessed Tigers and Sharks fans alike subjected to an endless torrent of homophobic, racist, misogynistic and intimidatingly violent language without any intervention from security, staff or police.

Stefano Utoikamanu of the Tigers hits the ball up. Picture: Getty Images

The vibe was off from the jump when a man with palpable rage in his eyes started screaming at everyone to “get the f — k up, it’s Leichhardt” (the game hadn’t started).

He and his mates then proceeded to scream at players that they were “pussies and gay c — ts”, screamed in Fijian at Sharks players of Pacific Islander appearance, and rumbled with each other without regard for anyone around them.

One elderly man was nearly knocked to the ground, while another was addressed with a threatening and aggressive tone when he politely asked them to watch out for his small grandson while they were staggering around.

Shame on the men around them who laughed and said nothing.

Shame on the school that apparently employs one of these clowns, spotted carrying on like a goose by his students who started calling out “yeah, let’s have a beer, sir”.

And shame on those who – when I posted on X about this experience – said I’m soft, this is what footy is like, and I should cop it or get out.

Traditional dancers perform prior to the round three NRL match between Wests Tigers and Cronulla Sharks at Leichhardt Oval. Picture: Getty Images

Men are using violent, offensive language towards players and about women and *I* should leave the game because that’s “just how things are”?

Footy matches are not special places where men get a pass from behaving like respectable human beings.

It is also not a special place where you can be one kind of intensely offensive person who speaks in such a revolting fashion and then switch it off when you leave.

If you are a man who lobs homophobia, racism and misogyny for a laugh at the footy, you are homophobic. You are racist. You are a misogynist. I’m worried about your wives and girlfriends. You are not to be tolerated by polite society.

Boys will not be boys. Boys will be men who take accountability and stop behaving in such a puerile, putrid manner because they think they are entitled to do whatever they want in community spaces.

Aidan Sezer of the Tigers passes the ball during the NRL match between Wests Tigers and Cronulla Sharks. Picture: Getty Images

I have voiced disdain many times for the NRL’s patchy approach to setting standards of accountability by the way it punishes players for their own on and off-field misbehaviour.

The game cannot wait another day to set higher standards for its fans and culture, and to say that homophobia, racism, misogyny, and abusive behaviour is just not footy.

If the Tigers had bothered to enforce responsible service of alcohol and assigned adequate security to the hill, this foul display might have been knocked on the head much sooner.

They – and every other club, because this is a game-wide issue – are going to have to start getting serious about proactively creating safer environments for every kind of fan.

It’s time to send a clear and unyielding message that the footy is not a safe space for drunken men to be anti-social and disrespectful.