A-League legend Alex Brosque has urged fans to find an alternative to walking out of stadiums ahead of this weekend’s A-League Men’s and Women’s fixtures.
Supporter fan groups around the country have taken to social media to encourage their fans to walk out of games at the 20th minute mark to send a message to the league administrators.
The APL’s decision to move the next three Grand Finals to Sydney has continued to face massive amounts of backlash from fans, media and clubs, with Western United condemning the decision.
Brosque acknowledged the fans’ disappointment but noted they should try to voice their opinions in another way.
“It’s just not a good look, I’m not a fan of it because the ones who suffer from this are the players, they go out and they have to show up and play in front of empty stadiums because the fans are upset,” Brosque said on SEN 1170 Mornings.
“I 100% get that, I’m behind the fans on their decision to do it, but I just don’t like it, I don’t think it’s the right way to handle it, I think there are other ways.
“Their voices have been heard, we’ve seen the reaction on Twitter and just what everyone is saying, they’re not happy.”
Brosque himself experienced a similar fallout between the fans and league administrators when supporter groups boycotted games due to media coverage of active support in 2015.
“Exiting games and not showing up to games, that’s the worst thing that can happen for our code, I don’t like seeing that, I hope they do show up,” Brosque said.
“I hope they maybe they hold up banners and show other ways of protesting, but don’t leave or not support the players because they need this.”
The APL released a statement on Tuesday night confirming they are sticking to the deal with the NSW Government and will work with clubs to help fans travel and accommodation to Sydney for the Grand Finals.