Some Wanderers fans have stadium bans lifted but RBB won’t budge on boycotting Western Sydney games

Western Sydney Wanderers’ active supporter group is still in ‘pursuit of justice’ after the ‘unnecessary’ actions of police officers at last Saturday’s Sydney derby.

Western Sydney’s active supporter group remains committed to boycotting its club’s matches despite three of the five stadium bans issued to Wanderers fans being lifted by Venues NSW.

The Red and Black Bloc walked out of CommBank Stadium last Saturday night during the Sydney derby in protest against actions from the large police contingent at the match, including their refusal to allow some Wanderers fans re-enter the active supporter area.

Five Wanderers supporters were subsequently issued with stadium bans.

It led to the RBB announcing that it would boycott Wanderers matches, starting with Friday night’s home clash against Western United., until the bans were overturned.

Following a meeting involving A-League and Wanderers officials, the NSW Police and Venues NSW, it was announced on Friday that three of the five bans had been suspended.

“We are really pleased with the initial outcome after discussions with Western Sydney Wanderers, the venue and police and we thank them for their work and collaboration in this investigation,” A-League commissioner Nick Garcia said.

“We want to make it really clear – we will stand up for the rights and safety of our fans.

“This review is just the start of addressing a broader issue across our game, and ongoing, we’ll continue to work with our fan representative group, clubs and stakeholders to implement new initiatives and procedures to protect our fans and the reputation of our game.”

The RBB will boycott Western Sydney’s games. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

However, while pleased with the ongoing “pursuit of justice”, the RBB want more done and won’t budge on its decision to boycott Wanderers matches.

“This is small step in proving that NSW Police and Venues NSW staff acted in a disproportionate and unnecessary manner on match day,” the RBB said in a statement on Friday.

“We will continue our stand until we are provided the opportunity to present our issues at a stakeholders meeting, and the remainder of the bans run through due process and are ultimately overturned.

“This means we will be watching our match (against Western United) from the Crown Hotel.

“To all fans who choose to attend the stadium, we ask you to please vacate the central RBB bay to ensure our absence sends a strong message.”

Wanderers chief executive officer Scott Hudson admitted there was still plenty to be done to ensure “our members and fans have a safe match day experience”.

“We have committed along with NSW Police and Venues NSW to ongoing discussions around all aspects of our match day operations, and we would like to acknowledge the constructive conversations that have taken place so far,” Hudson said.

“Whilst this is a step in the right direction, there is still a lot of work to be done in ensuring that our members and fans have a safe match day experience.

“Rest assured, we will continue to stand in solidarity with our members and fans on this issue.”

Originally published as Some Wanderers fans have stadium bans lifted but RBB won’t budge on boycotting Western Sydney games