A weekend marred by several incidents involving heavy-handed cops ‘roughing up’ football folk stigmatised as an existential threat to law and order in and around stadiums has brought the thorny issue back into sharp focus, yet again.
 
Videos posted by fans across social media of police and security, seemingly without provocation, treating supporters with the sort of distain reserved for violent demonstrators paints a picture of a nanny state on steroids.
 
Particularly disturbing footage showed a supporter outside Suncorp Stadium - where Brisbane beat Melbourne Victory 3-2 on Sunday - pinned to the ground by two police officers and a security guard.
 
The prostrate fan, pinioned in a leg lock, can be heard yelling at those involved in the pile on: “I can’t breathe”.
 
That unseemly spectacle - reminiscent of the dark days of lockdown when members of the public were brutalised for challenging government edicts - was one of several examples of authorities cracking down on active fans in a manner rarely, if ever, seen in other codes where flashpoints of ‘unruly’ behaviour are often dismissed as high-jinks and policed accordingly.
 
The pervasive culture within the constabularies up and down Australia appears to be that ‘soccer’ fans are a very different ‘beast’ and can be bullied and harassed with impunity.
 
The Suncorp incident was one of several between fans and their ‘minders’  in a weekend which shone on a light on the stark disconnect between authority figures and fans.
 
Western Sydney Wanderers’ active supporter group the RBB (Red and Black Bloc) walkout out en masse during Saturday’s 4-1 derby defeat to Sydney FC, where there were 14 arrests.
 
Fans uploaded videos of being stalked by police outside the ground, as they voiced their frustration at apparently being prevented from resuming their designated seats inside the stadium after returning a club authorised banner.
 
Further damning footage disseminated online shows police appearing to push and man handle bemused young supporters making their way to Suncorp Stadium for a match which also saw the Roar’s Den active supporter group walk out in protest.
 
Those fans claim they were accosted by police for simply “singing songs”.
 
For their part, Queensland Police said on Monday they had issued a 17-year-old boy and a 27-year-old man “with move on directions for “anti-social behaviour” while a 16-year-old was arrested for the allegedly igniting a flare.
 
On Friday, Macarthur FC fans bristled at  with security guards who forced them to take down a banner during the 2-0 win over Melbourne City.
 
APL commissioner Nick Garcia declined to respond when approached by FTBL for comment, but the league did issue a tepid two paragraph statement which confirmed they were “investigating” the incidents.
 
All of which possibly begs the question: who are a bigger threat to match day atmosphere and enjoyment, supporters or the police supposedly entrusted with keeping the peace?
 
It appears past time that the APL, which markets active supporter groups as a vivid point of difference between the A-League and rival codes, shows some fortitude and stands shoulder to shoulder with fans in opposition to police over-reach.
 
If they don’t, those few vibrant voices still remaining on the terraces will continue to walk away from the game.