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Radio broadcaster Alan Jones has criticised Football Federation Australia (FFA) for lack of action when it comes to tackling the problem of violence involving fans of A-League clubs. Jones, a former coach of Australia's Rugby Union team, slammed the nation's football governing body during his Monday morning programme after a Sunday Telegraph newspaper report said that 198 soccer supporters had been banned from all stadiums across the country. He accused the sport's governing body of not doing enough to keep A-League crowds in check. "The biggest issue seems to be that Soccer Australia, or as it calls itself Football Federation Australia, don't want to admit the problem," Jones said during a segment of 4BC's "The Alan Jones Breakfast Show" with the Sunday Telegraph's sport reporter, Rebecca Wilson. The Sunday Telegraph carried photographs of 10 of the 198 people reportedly banned, with the headline: "Banned: The 198 louts barred from every soccer ground in the country." The article said fans had been accused of "conduct ranging from violence, assault or flare throwing to general thuggery in a three-year period up to Oct. 30." Wilson claimed that FFA was sweeping the problem under the carpet. "The view from the FFA is we'll prove that we're doing something," Wilson said on Jones' show. "Some of the extent of their offences would make your eyes water and would seriously make you question whether or not you would ever go to any A-League game at all. "What it shows is there's a much larger problem there and it's a cultural problem within the sport. We've now got the problem spreading to the suburbs which makes it a community problem, not just a soccer problem." The A-League is growing in popularity across Australia, with average regular season attendance in 2014 at 12,511, compared to 15,905 for NRL and 16,913 for Super Rugby.
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