With rainbow flags, Wanderers fans back diversity

March 11, 2017
Issue 

Fans from Western Sydney Wanderers A-League football (soccer) team distributed hundreds of rainbow flags to those attending the club’s March 5 match against Adelaide United.

After a call for donations of rainbow flags to distribute on the night, which coincided with Sydney’s Mardi Gras march, about 800 flags were handed out to largely supportive fans, with stocks running out about half an hour before the match began.

It came after two weeks of controversy sparked by a banner raised by some Wanderers fans during their team’s 1-0 victory over cross-town rivals Sydney FC, which was widely condemned in the media and among many fans for being homophobic.

The action was initiated by die-hard Wanderers fan and Socialist Alliance member Guy Gillor, who said: “The reception we had was excellent. Almost everyone was supportive, people were coming up asking for flags, thanking us for the initiative.

“We handed out the last of our 800 plus flags with 30 minutes left to go before kickoff, meaning that almost 10% of the crowd took a flag on their way in. If we’d had double and triple that amount of flags, we would have distributed all of them.

“To us, this was a real showing of the inclusive fan base that we have.”

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