WHILE the majority of fans from the active A-League support groups are well-behaved, there are a number of ultra-fanatical factions chasing notoriety for their wild antics.

Inspired by their European counterparts, these hardcore football fans are known as “ultras”.

Despite being responsible for the lighting of flares at A-League games across the nation, these ultras claim to be doing nothing wrong.

They suggest non-stop chanting, the display of banners and the lighting of flares are completely kosher and help create a unique atmosphere to encourage their own team, while intimidating opposing players and supporters.

Football Federation Australia has a different idea, suggesting they are creating a negative stigma for the game and are making it unsafe for fellow patrons.

On Saturday night, 20 fans were evicted from the derby between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City after nine flares were lit before and during the game.

Fans also bombarded the field with rubbish and a bottle during the match.

This came just one week after the FFA fined the Western Sydney Wanderers $50,000 and imposed a suspended three-point A-League deduction for bringing the game into disrepute after 25 flares and detonators were set off at the away end and outside Docklands Stadium in Melbourne.

Following the Wanderers incident, FFA chief executive David Gallop said the conduct was deplorable and emphasised it would not be tolerated.

“The misconduct was not only dangerous and threatening but the co-ordinated and calculated way the fans behaved was a serious blight on the reputation of football and everyone involved in our game including clubs, members, fans, players and officials, ” Gallop said in an FFA statement.

Wanders support group Red and Black Bloc hit back releasing a statement declaring it did not condone the actions and suggested the fans had been victim to attacks from the FFA, the media and police.

“It was concluded that the RBB does not encourage anyone to participate in any prohibited activity, and those who have, have done so at their own risk. The consequences are known to all. The RBB supports the notion of personal choice as per our representation at the senate hearing late last year,” the group wrote on Facebook.

“This issue has been exacerbated in the media, and that if it was not flare use, the Wanderers fan base would have been targeted over other issues.”

While these support groups may plead victimisation, social media pages designed to celebrate the ultras lifestyle tell a different story.

Seeming to feed off Facebook pages created to celebrate the antics of ultra-fanatics on a global scale, a page known as “Ultras Mentality Australia” was created in 2013.

The page is used as propaganda for the activities carried on both during games and outside of fixtures.

Of the 10 active support groups in Australia, the Western Sydney Wanderers’ Red and Black Bloc, Sydney FC’s The Cove and Melbourne Victory’s North Terrace are the three largest and feature prominently on the page.

Broken down into different subsections, the page promotes a number of anti-social behaviours including pyro, tattoos and banners, which seem to give the ultras credibility on the global scene.

A recent post, which linked to a story about the Melbourne/Wanderers game having to be stopped due to smoke from flares light in the Red and Black Bloc away section, only seemed to amuse fans of the page.

“Bloody brilliant atmosphere from both sets of fans. It sounded awesome on tv. No Pyro No Party,” wrote one user.

“F**k the FFA,” wrote another.

The behaviour of these ultras stretches past the game atmosphere, with the waring fractions constantly trying to prove they are the most brazen support group.

A section on the Facebook page is dedicated entirely to “Stolen Banners, Flags, Merch and etc”.

As the name suggests, the gallery is filled with pictures of ultras disrespecting fellow support groups by defacing banners obtained illegally.

Horda with an RBB drum Posted by Ultras Mentality Australia on Saturday, February 6, 2016

These disrespectful actions often lead to tension between ultras, which can quickly turn to violence when they come face-to-face.

The most memorable being a 2013 brawl between the Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne Victory, which left several people injured.

Both support groups came to blows when a group of Melbourne Victory fans approached the Royal Melbourne Hotel where the Wanderers fans had been drinking pre-match.

What ensued was massive street brawl, which saw flares lit, chairs broken and glasses thrown.

Captured on CCTV, the video promptly added to social media and received praise from ultras around the world.

“Now I know there are hooligans in Australia also, I can move in to Australia,” wrote one user.

“Haha didn’t know this happened on Australia, good on em,” wrote another.

With the goal of being recognised as the most notorious support group in Australia, it doesn’t look like these antics will stop anytime soon.