Loyal fans or louts? SBS documentary airs claims Western Sydney Wanderers fans face race, class bias

A provocative documentary about A-Leagues football club Western Sydney Wanderers claims criticism of the team’s fans is ‘pearl-clutching’ and ‘a little bit racist’.

An image from the SBS documentary show Wanderers fans. Picture: Eric Berry

Football thugs or ardent fans who energised the game? That question is explored in a provocative documentary about “the nation’s most controversial soccer team’’, Western Sydney Wanderers, with TV personality Ian “Dicko” Dickson branding condemnation of the club’s working class and ethnically diverse followers “shrill, pearl-clutching” and “racist”.

“I can’t help feeling that it’s ­social and a little bit racist,’’ the former Australian Idol judge, a committed Wanderers fan, says in the new documentary, Came From Nowhere. “We know you’re wogs, just stop f..king shouting about it.’’

In the film, which airs on SBS and SBS On Demand from Sunday night, Dickson and others argue the relationship between football and its supporters is “visceral”, and that police, the media and politicians have over-reacted to Wanderers fans’ singing and marching en masse, standing on seats, goading other teams’ fans and using flares (now banned).

Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson says the police, media and politicians have over-reacted to Wanderers fans’ singing and marching en masse, standing on seats, goading other teams’ fans and using flares. Picture: SBS

Dickson jokes of fiercely tribal derby matches involving the self-described “f..k you club”: “Derbys are a really positive, safe place for hatred … if you’re not one of us but you’re one of our noisy posh neighbours, you can f..k right off.’’

Documentary presenter and producer Marc Fennell says “it’s not my job’’ to judge Wanderers fans’ behaviour but added: “What Dicko said (about Wanderers ­supporters encountering prejudice) is an overwhelming sentiment among fans, staff and players. It was certainly a consistent theme.’’ He added: “Everyone knows the city is divided.’’

However, SBS football commentator and ex-Socceroo Craig Foster and Daily Telegraph crime reporter Mark Morri are highly critical of some Wanderers fans’ actions in the years after the club was founded in 2012. This included wearing balaclavas, lighting flares, being hostile towards police and assaulting fans from rival club Sydney FC.

“This is a soccer match, this isn’t a war zone,’’ says Morri in the documentary, while Foster argues the fans “at times’’ overstepped the line, importing the anti-social ­behaviour seen in some European games. “I don’t want that culture here,’’ he says.

A Wanderers supporter was this month banned from matches for two years for allegedly making a “Nazi salute’’ at an A-Leagues game. NSW Police have launched an investigation into the incident.

In March, Wanderers CEO Scott Hudson said he was “very disturbed” by fans’ claims of heavy-handed treatment by police at a game against Sydney FC.

Western Sydney Wanderers fans as seen in Came From Nowhere. Picture: Eric Berry

The debate about fan behaviour comes as three Macarthur FC players have been suspended from the A-Leagues after being charged in relation to an alleged betting scandal. The film’s release also coincides with media reports the A-Leagues, Australia’s top tier soccer competition, is facing a grave ­financial crisis. It reportedly has plans to slash funding allocations to its clubs by 80 per cent.

Launched to mark the 10th anniversary of the Wanderers’ historic 2014 victory in the AFC Asian Champions League, Came From Nowhere is also a classic triumph of the underdog story. Fennell says: “This ragtag club went from having no name, no players and no facilities to ultimately winning the highest championship in the region against teams backed by billionaires and royalty.’’

The Wanderers finished seventh in the 2023-24 season, following a form slump. Nonetheless, they are regarded as one of a handful of clubs most likely to weather the A-Leagues’ financial storm.