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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
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.
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
City's Socceroos stars enjoying breakfast table banter
Emerging Socceroos midfielder Ryan Teague is trying to put Melbourne Victory's grand-final loss behind him, but it's hard when you have a trio of Melbourne City players in your face at the breakfast table. Marco Tilio, Aziz Behich and Kai Trewin had little time to celebrate Melbourne City's 1-0 grand-final triumph over the Victory, with the trio jumping on a flight to Perth on Sunday morning ahead of Thursday night's World Cup qualifier against Japan at Optus Stadium. Victory's Teague, Kasey Bos and Daniel Arzani are also in the Socceroos squad, ensuring there has been plenty of friendly teasing over the past couple of days. "There's a bit of banter. I sit on the same table as all three of them (City players), so you can imagine there's a little bit," Teague said with a smile. "(They've been saying) all the things you can imagine about beating us, beating Victory. "It was disappointing to lose the grand final. That's three grand finals lost in two years I've been at Melbourne Victory (including the Australia Cup grand final). "But I'm here now, I've got to put it past me. "I've got plenty of time later on to look back and reflect. But my sole focus now is the game against Japan." Japan (20 points) have already qualified for the World Cup, leaving Australia (13 points) and Saudi Arabia (10 points) to battle it out for the second automatic qualification berth. The Socceroos' goal difference of plus seven is far superior than that of Saudi Arabia's minus two. Saudi Arabia face lowly Bahrain away this week before hosting Australia in Jeddah next Tuesday. If the Socceroos are able to beat Japan, it would almost certainly be enough for Australia to hold onto second spot - barring a calamitous loss to Bahrain in the vicinity of five goals next week. Socceroos veteran Milos Degenek would love to appear at a third World Cup. And given the 2026 event is being held across the US, Canada and Mexico, Degenek is expecting big things. "It's going to be a really special World Cup in the States," he said. "Obviously, they're going to go all out guns blazing and show the world they've got everything - probably flying taxis and everything will be around at that time." Teague made his international debut earlier this year in the Socceroos' crucial 2-0 win in China. The 23-year-old actually had the chance to play for either China or Malaysia, but said it was a no brainer to choose the Socceroos. "My grandfather was born in China, and my mum's half Chinese," he said. "I'm super proud of my culture and my heritage. But as a kid, my goal and ambition has always been to play for the Socceroos." Emerging Socceroos midfielder Ryan Teague is trying to put Melbourne Victory's grand-final loss behind him, but it's hard when you have a trio of Melbourne City players in your face at the breakfast table. Marco Tilio, Aziz Behich and Kai Trewin had little time to celebrate Melbourne City's 1-0 grand-final triumph over the Victory, with the trio jumping on a flight to Perth on Sunday morning ahead of Thursday night's World Cup qualifier against Japan at Optus Stadium. Victory's Teague, Kasey Bos and Daniel Arzani are also in the Socceroos squad, ensuring there has been plenty of friendly teasing over the past couple of days. "There's a bit of banter. I sit on the same table as all three of them (City players), so you can imagine there's a little bit," Teague said with a smile. "(They've been saying) all the things you can imagine about beating us, beating Victory. "It was disappointing to lose the grand final. That's three grand finals lost in two years I've been at Melbourne Victory (including the Australia Cup grand final). "But I'm here now, I've got to put it past me. "I've got plenty of time later on to look back and reflect. But my sole focus now is the game against Japan." Japan (20 points) have already qualified for the World Cup, leaving Australia (13 points) and Saudi Arabia (10 points) to battle it out for the second automatic qualification berth. The Socceroos' goal difference of plus seven is far superior than that of Saudi Arabia's minus two. Saudi Arabia face lowly Bahrain away this week before hosting Australia in Jeddah next Tuesday. If the Socceroos are able to beat Japan, it would almost certainly be enough for Australia to hold onto second spot - barring a calamitous loss to Bahrain in the vicinity of five goals next week. Socceroos veteran Milos Degenek would love to appear at a third World Cup. And given the 2026 event is being held across the US, Canada and Mexico, Degenek is expecting big things. "It's going to be a really special World Cup in the States," he said. "Obviously, they're going to go all out guns blazing and show the world they've got everything - probably flying taxis and everything will be around at that time." Teague made his international debut earlier this year in the Socceroos' crucial 2-0 win in China. The 23-year-old actually had the chance to play for either China or Malaysia, but said it was a no brainer to choose the Socceroos. "My grandfather was born in China, and my mum's half Chinese," he said. "I'm super proud of my culture and my heritage. But as a kid, my goal and ambition has always been to play for the Socceroos." Emerging Socceroos midfielder Ryan Teague is trying to put Melbourne Victory's grand-final loss behind him, but it's hard when you have a trio of Melbourne City players in your face at the breakfast table. Marco Tilio, Aziz Behich and Kai Trewin had little time to celebrate Melbourne City's 1-0 grand-final triumph over the Victory, with the trio jumping on a flight to Perth on Sunday morning ahead of Thursday night's World Cup qualifier against Japan at Optus Stadium. Victory's Teague, Kasey Bos and Daniel Arzani are also in the Socceroos squad, ensuring there has been plenty of friendly teasing over the past couple of days. "There's a bit of banter. I sit on the same table as all three of them (City players), so you can imagine there's a little bit," Teague said with a smile. "(They've been saying) all the things you can imagine about beating us, beating Victory. "It was disappointing to lose the grand final. That's three grand finals lost in two years I've been at Melbourne Victory (including the Australia Cup grand final). "But I'm here now, I've got to put it past me. "I've got plenty of time later on to look back and reflect. But my sole focus now is the game against Japan." Japan (20 points) have already qualified for the World Cup, leaving Australia (13 points) and Saudi Arabia (10 points) to battle it out for the second automatic qualification berth. The Socceroos' goal difference of plus seven is far superior than that of Saudi Arabia's minus two. Saudi Arabia face lowly Bahrain away this week before hosting Australia in Jeddah next Tuesday. If the Socceroos are able to beat Japan, it would almost certainly be enough for Australia to hold onto second spot - barring a calamitous loss to Bahrain in the vicinity of five goals next week. Socceroos veteran Milos Degenek would love to appear at a third World Cup. And given the 2026 event is being held across the US, Canada and Mexico, Degenek is expecting big things. "It's going to be a really special World Cup in the States," he said. "Obviously, they're going to go all out guns blazing and show the world they've got everything - probably flying taxis and everything will be around at that time." Teague made his international debut earlier this year in the Socceroos' crucial 2-0 win in China. The 23-year-old actually had the chance to play for either China or Malaysia, but said it was a no brainer to choose the Socceroos. "My grandfather was born in China, and my mum's half Chinese," he said. "I'm super proud of my culture and my heritage. But as a kid, my goal and ambition has always been to play for the Socceroos."
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Melbourne Victory star Ryan Teague intent on sealing FIFA World Cup qualification with Socceroos
World Cup qualification would help ease Melbourne Victory star Ryan Teague's pain of losing another A-League grand final. Victory has tasted defeat in back-to-back A-League deciders, with Saturday night's 1-0 loss to Melbourne City at AAMI Park coming a year after losing last season's grand final 3-1 to the Central Coast Mariners in Gosford. Throw in Victory's 1-0 loss Macarthur FC in last year's Australia Cup final, and that's three deciders on the trot in which Teague has been on the wrong end of the result. The first training session of our Perth camp is in the books ✅ Hard work continues ahead of Thursday’s big Subway #Socceroos match ðŸ'° 🇦🇰 v 🇯🇵 - 5.6.25, 9pm AEST (7pm local) 🎟ï¸�: ðŸ'±ðŸ'»ðŸ'°: Live on 10, 10 Play, Paramount+ ðŸ'»: ABC Radio via the ABC Listen… — Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) June 3, 2025 'It's disappointing to lose a grand final … that's three,' Teague said on Wednesday ahead of Australia's FIFA World Cup qualifier against Japan at Perth's Optus Stadium. 'It was unfortunate because probably a club like Victory is expected to win grand finals and trophies, but there are things to improve on and we can look forward to that going into next (season) … but I'm here in (Perth) now. I've got to put it past me. My sole focus now is the game against Japan. 'It's more about seeing what I can do here, how I can help the team the best I can to get the win against Japan. I'm super happy to be selected again.' Teague is one of six weekend grand final players – three from Victory and three from City – in the Socceroos squad, the others being his club teammates Daniel Arzani and Kasey Bos, and City's Aziz Behich, Kai Trewin and Marco Tilio. 'They're all great guys,' Teague said of the City trio. 'There was a bit of banter, but we've moved on. We're here supporting the same team now, and playing for the same team.' Teague impressed in his Socceroos' debut in a 2-0 away win over China in March and was hopeful of a second cap on Thursday night when Australia could seal a spot at next year's World Cup with a win, or even a draw, depending on the result of Friday morning's qualifier between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in Riffa. 'Of course it's a big game but I don't try to overthink it,' the 23-year-old midfielder said. 'Japan's a very good squad, but it's about focusing on ourselves and what we can do to break them down and beat them.' Having already sealed a World Cup berth by topping Group C in the third round of AFC qualifiers, Japan has sent an inexperienced squad to Perth, leaving a host of stars at home. 'Any team Japan puts out is going to be very good and very respectable,' Teague said.
Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
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.
West Australian
4 hours ago
- Sport
- West Australian
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.
