Australian Jewish org. calls to ban fans who performed Nazi salute

• Published date: 04 October 2022
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

"Football Australia acknowledges and strongly condemns the actions of a small minority of individuals who engaged in behaviour that is not consistent with Football Australia's values and wider community expectations."

Football Australia official statement

This behavior was specifically targeted at the field during the "Welcome to Country" ceremony at the beginning of the game. CNN further reports that eight people were removed from the stadium following these events.

Welcome to Country is an Australian indigenous ceremony, which, according to the National Indigenous Australians Agency, is an acknowledgement of the land, and "is usually delivered as part of Welcome and Housekeeping at meetings and events. It should be delivered at significant/large internal meetings or meetings with external participants e.g. branch meetings, inter-departmental meetings etc."

There are many versions of the ritual for different occasions. Notably, only an indigenous Australian person can perform a Welcome to Country. If none are present, someone may perform an Acknowledgement of Country instead.

Football Australia condemnation

Football Australia (FA) promptly released a statement which, among other things, said that "Football Australia acknowledges and strongly condemns the actions of a small minority of individuals who engaged in behaviour that is not consistent with Football Australia's values and wider community expectations." This was accompanied by a...