Let fans have their flares, says Socceroos veteran
Socceroos veteran Milos Degenek wants to see flares back at Australian soccer games, saying travelling teams now have it too easy due to fans being over policed.
More than 50,000 fans are expected to turn out on Thursday night when Australia host Japan in a crunch World Cup qualifier at Optus Stadium in Perth.
The match will be played less than a week after riot police were called in to control unruly fans walking to the game in the lead up to Melbourne City's A-League Men grand-final win over arch-rivals Melbourne Victory.
About 20 flares were lit in the crowd, with one police officer taken to hospital after allegedly being kicked.
Football Australia strictly bans flares and other pyrotechnics in and around stadiums, with perpetrators facing hefty bans.
The Socceroos have faced plenty of hostile crowds over the years in various World Cup qualifying campaigns, but Degenek feels Australian fans aren't given the scope to return the favour due to restrictions being placed on them.
"It would be a lot nicer if when countries come to Australia to play against us, the crowd was a little bit more hostile" Degenek said in Perth on Tuesday.
"Put it this way. I played in Serbia. I played at Red Star Belgrade, in the Eternal Derby where you play Partizan (Belgrade), where flares are thrown onto a pitch, where the city gets shut down on game day.
"But in the end, that's normal for me. There's no fear.
"There's a code in the footballing world: Fans are never going to attack footballers.
"I saw the pictures from the (A-League) grand final - a lot of police.
"For me, I just think it's nonsense that you have people in riot gear for guys who are going to a game.
"I don't think we're going to a war. We're just going to a football game. You're making it out to be a lot worse than what it is."
Degenek believes by tightening down on people's rights with a huge police presence, it leads to more problems.
"That has a counter effect, in my opinion," he said.
"Because you are paying so much attention to those things - fans or flares and this and that - in the end, you're going to force an issue, because you're narrowing down corridors where they can walk.
"You're pushing them to a side. Someone's going to step on someone, someone's going to push and then that escalates really quick, rather than give them freedom to move and getting them safely to a stadium.
"Once they're in, you close them off. No one's going to walk out onto the pitch, no one's going to walk out to the other side and fight with the other fans, because by the time you get from A to B, it's a 150m walk."
Degenek believes more people would attend games if they were policed less.
"You need to give the fans the freedom, the joy," he said.
"Because the more you do that (police them), the less people are going to go to the stadium.
"In Europe, you have less police, and that's where you have more fans at the games.
"And for us as footballers, it's a lot better when you see flares in the stadium, when you see fans screaming, chanting, flares going off, because that kind of gets the adrenaline going and motivates you even more."
The Socceroos (13 points) sit second in their qualifying group. A win over Japan (20 points) would almost certainly lock in their place for the 2026 World Cup.
Socceroos veteran Milos Degenek wants to see flares back at Australian soccer games, saying travelling teams now have it too easy due to fans being over policed.
More than 50,000 fans are expected to turn out on Thursday night when Australia host Japan in a crunch World Cup qualifier at Optus Stadium in Perth.
The match will be played less than a week after riot police were called in to control unruly fans walking to the game in the lead up to Melbourne City's A-League Men grand-final win over arch-rivals Melbourne Victory.
About 20 flares were lit in the crowd, with one police officer taken to hospital after allegedly being kicked.
Football Australia strictly bans flares and other pyrotechnics in and around stadiums, with perpetrators facing hefty bans.
The Socceroos have faced plenty of hostile crowds over the years in various World Cup qualifying campaigns, but Degenek feels Australian fans aren't given the scope to return the favour due to restrictions being placed on them.
"It would be a lot nicer if when countries come to Australia to play against us, the crowd was a little bit more hostile" Degenek said in Perth on Tuesday.
"Put it this way. I played in Serbia. I played at Red Star Belgrade, in the Eternal Derby where you play Partizan (Belgrade), where flares are thrown onto a pitch, where the city gets shut down on game day.
"But in the end, that's normal for me. There's no fear.
"There's a code in the footballing world: Fans are never going to attack footballers.
"I saw the pictures from the (A-League) grand final - a lot of police.
"For me, I just think it's nonsense that you have people in riot gear for guys who are going to a game.
"I don't think we're going to a war. We're just going to a football game. You're making it out to be a lot worse than what it is."
Degenek believes by tightening down on people's rights with a huge police presence, it leads to more problems.
"That has a counter effect, in my opinion," he said.
"Because you are paying so much attention to those things - fans or flares and this and that - in the end, you're going to force an issue, because you're narrowing down corridors where they can walk.
"You're pushing them to a side. Someone's going to step on someone, someone's going to push and then that escalates really quick, rather than give them freedom to move and getting them safely to a stadium.
"Once they're in, you close them off. No one's going to walk out onto the pitch, no one's going to walk out to the other side and fight with the other fans, because by the time you get from A to B, it's a 150m walk."
Degenek believes more people would attend games if they were policed less.
"You need to give the fans the freedom, the joy," he said.
"Because the more you do that (police them), the less people are going to go to the stadium.
"In Europe, you have less police, and that's where you have more fans at the games.
"And for us as footballers, it's a lot better when you see flares in the stadium, when you see fans screaming, chanting, flares going off, because that kind of gets the adrenaline going and motivates you even more."
The Socceroos (13 points) sit second in their qualifying group. A win over Japan (20 points) would almost certainly lock in their place for the 2026 World Cup.
Socceroos veteran Milos Degenek wants to see flares back at Australian soccer games, saying travelling teams now have it too easy due to fans being over policed.
More than 50,000 fans are expected to turn out on Thursday night when Australia host Japan in a crunch World Cup qualifier at Optus Stadium in Perth.
The match will be played less than a week after riot police were called in to control unruly fans walking to the game in the lead up to Melbourne City's A-League Men grand-final win over arch-rivals Melbourne Victory.
About 20 flares were lit in the crowd, with one police officer taken to hospital after allegedly being kicked.
Football Australia strictly bans flares and other pyrotechnics in and around stadiums, with perpetrators facing hefty bans.
The Socceroos have faced plenty of hostile crowds over the years in various World Cup qualifying campaigns, but Degenek feels Australian fans aren't given the scope to return the favour due to restrictions being placed on them.
"It would be a lot nicer if when countries come to Australia to play against us, the crowd was a little bit more hostile" Degenek said in Perth on Tuesday.
"Put it this way. I played in Serbia. I played at Red Star Belgrade, in the Eternal Derby where you play Partizan (Belgrade), where flares are thrown onto a pitch, where the city gets shut down on game day.
"But in the end, that's normal for me. There's no fear.
"There's a code in the footballing world: Fans are never going to attack footballers.
"I saw the pictures from the (A-League) grand final - a lot of police.
"For me, I just think it's nonsense that you have people in riot gear for guys who are going to a game.
"I don't think we're going to a war. We're just going to a football game. You're making it out to be a lot worse than what it is."
Degenek believes by tightening down on people's rights with a huge police presence, it leads to more problems.
"That has a counter effect, in my opinion," he said.
"Because you are paying so much attention to those things - fans or flares and this and that - in the end, you're going to force an issue, because you're narrowing down corridors where they can walk.
"You're pushing them to a side. Someone's going to step on someone, someone's going to push and then that escalates really quick, rather than give them freedom to move and getting them safely to a stadium.
"Once they're in, you close them off. No one's going to walk out onto the pitch, no one's going to walk out to the other side and fight with the other fans, because by the time you get from A to B, it's a 150m walk."
Degenek believes more people would attend games if they were policed less.
"You need to give the fans the freedom, the joy," he said.
"Because the more you do that (police them), the less people are going to go to the stadium.
"In Europe, you have less police, and that's where you have more fans at the games.
"And for us as footballers, it's a lot better when you see flares in the stadium, when you see fans screaming, chanting, flares going off, because that kind of gets the adrenaline going and motivates you even more."
The Socceroos (13 points) sit second in their qualifying group. A win over Japan (20 points) would almost certainly lock in their place for the 2026 World Cup.
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In the opening race in La Seu in Spain, Fox finished 48th in a field of 50 after incurring a 50-second penalty for missing a gate. She also missed the K1 final at the second World Cup event in Pau in France, but at both she bounced back to win gold in the C1 races. "It's funny, people are always almost shocked when you don't qualify for the final, or when you don't win, as when you've done it so many times it's just expected, but actually it's hard every time," Fox said from Prague, ahead of another World Cup later this month. "Even the best athletes make mistakes, so it was disappointing, I was upset, I had a good cry about it, and then I just got back on the horse the next day, got back in my boat and had another crack. "I'm fine-tuning things and I'm still in a training and building phase at the moment before the worlds, and I'm taking in as much info as I can." She said the gates hung quite low in Spain, and she was too cautious in her approach. But after taking time out to savour her Olympic success, also winning gold in the C1 while her sister Noemie won the kayak cross, she felt she was building nicely for the world championships. Fox admitted the pressure of defending her title on her home course could be on par with the Olympics. "Paris was magical in every way and it went perfectly, and was a very successful campaign, and fantastic to perform in that way,'' she said. "Now looking forward, obviously you're always going to have that expectation and target on your back, you're the reigning Olympic champion, reigning world champion in the kayak, and that hovers there, like a cloud, if you let it. "Everyone's hungry for that race, and just because you're world number one or just because you're the reigning champion doesn't mean it's different. "Coming into a world championship at home is going to feel very much like an Olympics in terms of the pressure and the expectation, but I think we'll be ready. "I love our home course and that's going to serve me, and I'm going to try and make it an advantage." While she's set to compete in the next Olympics in Los Angeles, Fox is also looking beyond her paddling career and has partnered with charity organisation High Impact Athletes, with sponsors pledging an amount for each "clean" gate on the course. "It's about looking beyond sport and going, how else can I have an impact, and how do I keep this interesting and exciting, and what's my legacy going to be?,'' she said. "Each race, each run, each gate that I take, I'm pledging my support for this charity, which provides safe, clean drinking water for people around the world, and bringing people on board with me." There's been some rough water for Jessica Fox since her Paris Olympics medal blitz, but the canoe great feels her title defence is on track 100 days out from the world championships in Penrith. Fox will defend her kayak crown on her home course, with the competition getting under way on September 29, but despite winning gold in the event in Paris, her results this year haven't been at her usual standard. The 31-year-old, who owns six Olympic medals, including three gold, has missed the K1 final at both of the opening World Cup events in Europe. In the opening race in La Seu in Spain, Fox finished 48th in a field of 50 after incurring a 50-second penalty for missing a gate. She also missed the K1 final at the second World Cup event in Pau in France, but at both she bounced back to win gold in the C1 races. "It's funny, people are always almost shocked when you don't qualify for the final, or when you don't win, as when you've done it so many times it's just expected, but actually it's hard every time," Fox said from Prague, ahead of another World Cup later this month. "Even the best athletes make mistakes, so it was disappointing, I was upset, I had a good cry about it, and then I just got back on the horse the next day, got back in my boat and had another crack. "I'm fine-tuning things and I'm still in a training and building phase at the moment before the worlds, and I'm taking in as much info as I can." She said the gates hung quite low in Spain, and she was too cautious in her approach. But after taking time out to savour her Olympic success, also winning gold in the C1 while her sister Noemie won the kayak cross, she felt she was building nicely for the world championships. Fox admitted the pressure of defending her title on her home course could be on par with the Olympics. "Paris was magical in every way and it went perfectly, and was a very successful campaign, and fantastic to perform in that way,'' she said. "Now looking forward, obviously you're always going to have that expectation and target on your back, you're the reigning Olympic champion, reigning world champion in the kayak, and that hovers there, like a cloud, if you let it. "Everyone's hungry for that race, and just because you're world number one or just because you're the reigning champion doesn't mean it's different. "Coming into a world championship at home is going to feel very much like an Olympics in terms of the pressure and the expectation, but I think we'll be ready. "I love our home course and that's going to serve me, and I'm going to try and make it an advantage." While she's set to compete in the next Olympics in Los Angeles, Fox is also looking beyond her paddling career and has partnered with charity organisation High Impact Athletes, with sponsors pledging an amount for each "clean" gate on the course. "It's about looking beyond sport and going, how else can I have an impact, and how do I keep this interesting and exciting, and what's my legacy going to be?,'' she said. "Each race, each run, each gate that I take, I'm pledging my support for this charity, which provides safe, clean drinking water for people around the world, and bringing people on board with me."
