Melbourne football team to play without audience after sexist fan conduct

A football club in Melbourne's northern suburbs will have to play its next two home games without fans in attendance, after hardline supporters brought sexist and offensive banners to a game last weekend. Football Victoria announced late yesterday that after "utterly disgraceful" scenes, the next two Preston Lions state league matches would be played "behind closed doors, with no spectators permitted".Last Saturday, the Preston Lions, a club associated with the Macedonian Australian community, faced South Melbourne FC in a state league match that resulted in a nil-all draw.Supporters of the Preston Lions hold up a banner that has angered many Greek Australians. (Facebook: Konstantinos Kalymnios)South Melbourne FC are associated with the Greek diaspora and are known as the Hellas, the Greek name for Greece, from which the English adjective Hellenic is derived.Images from the game showed members of the Preston Boys ultras group holding a banner reading "anti-Hellass" in the stands.Other banners posted to social media contained profanity and sexist messaging about Greek women.Football Victoria chief executive Dan Birrell said on Wednesday that the "unsavoury" incident was a "culmination" of the behaviour of some Preston Lions fans."To be crystal clear, we cannot and will not accept this as part of our game," he said."Do not tell me this is part of European culture and football culture.Further sanctions could followFootball Victoria said the matter had been referred to the independent Football Victoria Tribunal, which would determine whether to enforce additional sanctions on the club or individuals involved."[This] may include financial penalties, education and training, points deductions or match restrictions," the body said.Mr Birrell said those responsible for the behaviour were "not welcome" at football matches and would be banned from attending.The Preston Lions caused a major upset against the Newcastle Jets this week. (Facebook: Preston Lions)"You are cowards. You are men who are hiding behind face coverings, behind hoodies, balaclavas, beanies and sunglasses," he said."You are embarrassed to show your faces because these aren't things that you deep down can even believe in yourself."We will identify who you are and you will be banned completely from all parts of our community."The decision to bar spectators comes after the Preston Lions achieved an upset win against the Newcastle Jets on Tuesday night in the Australia Cup, defeating the NSW-based side 3-2.Preston Lions coach Zoran Markovski was quoted by News Corp as saying his team "deserves to be in the A-League", the highest tier of Australian football in which the Newcastle Jets compete."When you're attracting crowds of 5,000 people sometimes, and averaging 3,500-4,000 every week, they are bigger crowds than some of the A-League clubs are getting at the moment," he was quoted as saying.The Preston Lions did not respond to the ABC's requests for comment."We ask all supporters to represent Preston Lions with pride by respecting fellow fans, players, officials and venue staff," the club said on social media ahead of the Newcastle Jets game on Tuesday night."Let's make headlines for the right reasons — our football, our passion and the incredible atmosphere we create together."Pan Hellenic Women's Federation of Australia president Georgina Papafotiou previously told the ABC she wanted authorities to ensure sporting grounds were free from sexism and ethnic vilification."Parents should not have to explain degrading sexual slogans to their children at a community sporting event," she said.Football Victoria said a majority of people involved in the game were "passionate, respectful and inclusive"."They deserve to participate in an environment that reflects those values, not one overshadowed by the actions of a small minority," the body said.