WORK is ongoing to address trouble among younger elements of attendees at Alloa games, following repeated incidents.
The Wasps’ 3-0 win against Montrose was marred by reports of youngsters ejected from the ground and inciting violence with opposition supporters.
The issue was raised during the club’s supporters’ Q&A session on Monday (August 17), with the fanbase reporting it had had a knock-on effect to those attending away games.
In previous years, Alloa supporters had been kept within the ground and filtered out to avoid interactions with troublesome fans.
One instance occurred at Dumbarton two seasons ago, with the Wasps’ travelling fans corralled inside the stand for a period of time while the younger attendees dispersed.
Latterly, reports of fighting outside the Indodrill Stadium have circulated, particularly at the nearby KFC and Alloa train station.
An initiative launched by Alloa is the Hive youth club, which aims to work with younger supporters, ensure they get to games safely and help support them root for the team in a constructive manner.
Kieren Mooney, the club’s general manager, said: “This is such a difficult situation to manage because a lot of the problems happen outside the stadium.
“That is absolutely not us as a club washing our hands of it. We wouldn’t want to do that.
“I’ve heard a lot of comments about this place [the Hive] being the root cause of the problem. I flip it and think this is the solution.
“This is the way we communicate and engage with young people.
“There is a lot of good work going on – there is work with the police, the local authority, the schools.
“These are all proactive things we’re trying to do to make sure we’re not turning away young supporters and we can create an environment.
“There is an element where they’re there early, banging the drums and cheering on the players but what we can’t have is everything else that comes with it.
“That’s a discussion for the club and board to figure out where that line is. It’s becoming a point where we absolutely can’t tolerate it.
“Saturday was another day full of incidents and we’re not wanting to be in a position like that again.”
Mr Mooney confirmed that stewarding had been increased, but that this came at a cost to the club.
He also announced that Alloa had been chosen for a pilot project with the SPFL to strengthen liaison between the club, police and the local authorities in relation to safety.
John O’Malley, the newest director on the board, has experience working with young people through his role leading the Wasps youth team.
He added: “It’s a tricky situation. There is no one answer to this. A lot of kids are congregating outside the Hive. They’re not coming in here and they’re going to the match.
“They’re not there to support the team. If we ban them, they’re standing outside lobbing things over the fence.
“That becomes another issue where we have stewards or police outside the ground which comes to a cost to the club.
“It is a tricky problem and it isn’t just an us problem. Its tearing its way through Scottish football right now, especially in the lower leagues.
“It’s going to be trial-and-error and people are going to have to be patient while we try to fix it.
“There is not going to be a one fix fits all.”
One supporter raised the issue about challenging the SFA, SPFL and other governing bodies.
He made it clear this was not solely an Alloa issue and that those in power should be doing more to combat it.
Mr Mooney added: “For us, we have to look at what we can control. We’re not leaving a stone unturned. I’ve looked at it as a carrot and stick.
“It’s a culture problem, a Scottish football problem. We’re not alone in it.
“We just have to continue to do the good things and if it gets to that point where we think repercussions are appropriate, we have no qualms in doing it.”
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