#Tifogate Is The Aussie Soccer Drama You Didn’t Know You Needed

Now, if #tifogate is to believed, real thieves in the actual night are tangled up in the mix too.

Ahead of Sydney FC‘s blockbuster derby clash tonight with reigning Asian Champions League winners Western Sydney Wanderers, Sydney FC’s fan group The Cove announced on social media that their specially-made tifo – those massive, handmade banners that hang over the crowd – was stolen last night from a warehouse.

 

Without Suggesting Who may have wanted to steal the banner, the post still manages to call out the perps, saying “it’s disappointing that those who cannot compete with our displays, our style, our ideas and our innovations choose to diminish a great derby occasion with petty, small-minded acts of theft.”

The tifo has a special place in the hearts and minds of soccer fans the world over, and it’s a tradition that clubs around Australia have latched onto. Another great tradition of the sport: #topbantz on social media.

 

Another twist in #tifogate – Someone’s offering the chance for @SFCU and @SydneyFC to buy it back… pic.twitter.com/5XXVPzejAn

— MrStealYoTIFO (@BlameTurner) October 24, 2015

Wanderers toughs used martial arts moves to overpower security guarding the Cove tifo #tifogate pic.twitter.com/qJD5QzTBwD

— Ben Clark (@scouse_roar) October 24, 2015

“Where’s the TIFO?”
“Err, the dog ate it”
“Really”
“Err, John said he’d bring it but he’s sick”
“Really”
“Err, I was stolen…..”
#tifogate

— phil withall (@phil_withall) October 24, 2015

The sold-out match is currently underway, with scores tied 0-0. The tifo is yet to be found. 

Image: Ashley Feder via Getty.