A fan who gave the Hitler salute at an Australian football game was banned for life on Wednesday, according to the organization that oversees the sport.
A group of fans at the Australia Cup final in Sydney on Saturday were captured on video performing fascist gestures and apparently singing far-right Croatian songs. The guy, who has not been officially identified, was among them.
One fan has been identified and has received a lifetime ban from all future matches sanctioned by Football Australia, including matches involving the national team, the A-League, and the Australia Cup.
The governing body, which previously referred to “Hitler salutes,” said that the behavior in issue “relates to a fascist salute or comparable gesture done during the match and caught on the host broadcast.”
Football Australia has a “zero-tolerance” policy for disrespectful and offensive behavior at events that are sanctioned and will not put up with conduct that might offend, degrade, humiliate, discredit, or defame fans, players, or officials.
It was also mentioned that further people were being found via ongoing investigations.
During the match between A-League team Macarthur FC and semi-pro Sydney United 58, previously known as Sydney Croatia, eight spectators were expelled from Sydney’s CommBank Stadium.
James Johnson, the chief executive of Football Australia, addressed an open letter to the football community at the same time as the severe punishment, expressing his “shock and worry” about the behavior of the supporters.
Members of our football community have been mistreated, injured, and outraged by their conduct, he said.
A Native American greeting ritual, which recognized the connection between Indigenous people and the land, was allegedly disrupted by spectators yelling.