"It had been caught up in a wider review undertaken prior to the start of the Hyundai A-League to ensure that national or political flags are not brought into games inappropriately,'' Mr Buckley said. "In this instance I believe it's a case of the interpretation of 'political' going too far and the ban has been an unintended consequence of our spectator code of behaviour.''

Melbourne Victory chief executive Geoff Miles said the club was happy with today's decision. "We're pleased that the FFA reviewed this, reviewed the policy, and clarified the Eureka flags are not caught under the prohibited flags, a policy which intended to cover any flags apart from the Australian national flag,'' he said. "I think it probably really only came to light this weekend about the issue and in the end it doesn't matter what's been the catalyst (for today's reversal), we believe that it's a good commonsense approach and one our fans will appreciate.''

Mr Miles said the club had always believed supporters should be able to carry the flag, which is used as a signal of unity. "We challenged the change of policy because we didn't believe there was a significant issue with the Eureka flag,'' he said.

Dan Oakes' Age exclusive on the controversial ban: SOCCER fans who fly the Eureka flag at A-League games will be kicked out of Docklands Stadium and have their flags confiscated. In a move descendants of Eureka Stockade diggers have described as outrageous, the Football Federation of Australia has forced Melbourne Victory to tell its supporters the flag is banned because it is a political symbol.

In an unprecedented move, the club itself has also criticised the ban and urged the federation to reconsider. Fans of the Victory have flown the famous standard, with its white cross and five white stars on a blue background, since the club was formed, and consider it to be a symbol of unity.

"The Eureka flag was actually the first emblem of the first Victory supporters' group. We've had the Eureka flag at our games since day dot, and all of a sudden it's got political connotations and we can't fly it," said Adam Tennenini, leader of the Blue and White Brigade supporters' group. "We see it as a symbol of unity and respect among all supporters. It's a true Victorian symbol as well. The FFA sees it as a political statement — us against them." Under federation regulations, no "flag or emblem which might be considered national or political" is allowed at games, other than the Australian flag. The rule was brought in to ensure ethnic and political tensions were not played out in the stands at A-League games.

Mr Tennenini said he was told by security guards at Saturday's game against Sydney FC that anybody flying the flag would be kicked out of the club's next home game on November 21. Mr Tennenini said fans now planned to bring as many Eureka flags to the game as possible, in defiance of the ban.

Melbourne Victory chief executive Geoff Miles said last night that the club had challenged the ban privately, but was now publicly backing its supporters. "We believe that the flying of Eureka flags really isn't adversely affecting, polarising or disenfranchising our supporters or opposition supporters," Mr Miles said. "The Eureka flag is a historic symbol in Victoria and Australia, and while it can be associated with political unions and movements, at its core Eureka represents Australians coming together as a collective for a cause they believe in.

"Our supporters have had the capacity to fly the Eureka flags for the past three years … a review of this regulation will be looked upon very favourably." The Eureka flag was first flown as a symbol of the resistance of the gold miners during the Eureka Stockade rebellion in 1854. Since then, it has been co-opted by both ends of the political spectrum, but is now listed as an object of state significance on the Victorian Heritage Register, and was named an icon by the National Trust in 2006.

Paul Murphy, founder of Eureka's Children, a group made up of descendants of the 1854 rebels, yesterday described the ban as outrageous. "Whenever you see the flag, whether it's farmers in Mildura, soccer fans or on building sites, it simply means 'I'm pissed off with whoever's in charge'," said Mr Murphy, whose great-great-grandfather, Michael Canny, was wounded at the Eureka Stockade. "It's an act of free expression and I would encourage those supporters to fly it as an act of defiance, with the best wishes of the Eureka descendants."

Under the Howard government, the Australian Building and Construction Commission banned the flying of the flag on all worksites because of its union connotations. Predictably, Mr Murphy said, the response of union members was to fly the flag as prominently as possible. "The ABCC tried that on last year and all it did was inflame the unionists, so the unionists now show up with every bloody version of the flag they can," he said. "We've always said that it's about unity. There were 20 nationalities at Eureka, and if the Melbourne fans are flying it as a symbol of unity, it shows that symbol is still valid."