Lederer said the situation reached a \u201ctipping point\u201d on Saturday night when \u201cup to 20 public order and riot squad officers\u201d were positioned behind Wanderers supporter bays at Campbelltown Stadium during the club\u2019s 0-0 draw with Macarthur FC.<\/p>\n
The game also featured 20 minutes of silence from Western Sydney\u2019s active supporter group, the Red and Black Bloc, in protest at being told by NSW Police to surrender their drums, megaphone and banners two hours before kick-off.<\/p>\n
Lederer is fed up, saying \u201cenough is enough\u201d.<\/p>\n
![\"Western](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/74ae8f7a20234093fc3a7d5e92a8c6d6.jpeg\")
Western Sydney Wanderers active support group, the Red and Black Bloc, cheer for their team. Picture: James Gourley\/The Sunday TelegraphSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the beginning of the season, we have witnessed repeated issues surrounding the treatment of our supporters,\u201d he said in a statement posted on the Wanderers\u2019 website.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe events of this weekend have brought those frustrations to a tipping point.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe treatment of our members and fans has been totally unacceptable. Enough is enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe RBB are an integral part of our club which we are extremely proud of. That will never change, and we will continue to stand behind the positive contribution they make to the Wanderers and football in this country.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur supporters should never be made to feel like second-class citizens simply because they choose to support a football club.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis level of treatment is neither reasonable nor proportionate, and there is no justification for a riot squad presence at our football matches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lederer stressed that the club did not \u201ccondone anti-social behaviour from any individual\u201d.<\/p>\n
Wanderers chairman Paul Lederer says Western Sydney fans deserve better treatment from authorities. Picture: Nic WalkerSource: The Australian<\/p>\n
\u201cThose who do the wrong thing must be held accountable, but the actions of individuals should never define an entire fan base,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe overwhelming majority of our supporters are everyday people who simply want to enjoy football and passionately support their team. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe will never allow anyone to take that away from them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognise and respect the responsibility of NSW Police, stadium authorities and the A-Leagues to ensure everyone\u2019s safety, but that responsibility must be exercised fairly, consistently and with respect for those attending our matches.
\u201cFor over a decade, we have worked in good faith with the relevant authorities, investing significant time in constructive dialogue and building relationships to address longstanding challenges, but our patience and willingness to work collaboratively should never be mistaken for acceptance. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur members and fans have waited long enough, and deserve to be treated with common sense and the utmost respect.<\/p>\n
\u201c1 will not accept our members and fans being treated as though their passion makes them any less deserving of respect. Neither will this club.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to raise our concerns directly with NSW Police, the A-Leagues and relevant stakeholders, seek clear answers and push for fair, consistent and respectful treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Western Sydney chairman Paul Lederer has condemned the treatment of Wanderers fans by authorities, saying \u201cexcessive policing\u201d is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":949654,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-949653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=949653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/949654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=949653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=949653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=949653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}