Senyan fans boycotted the away match after officials at the Freddie Mercury Memorial Arena would expel anyone caught bringing flares and smoke bombs into the stadium, and Mercurian officials refusing the Senyan government's request to provide amnesty for those caught setting off pyrotechnics.
As a result, the Naldas fan group boycotted the game, though many seats in the FMMA were occupied by normal fans, after boycotting Naldas fans donated their plane and match tickets to DIS Senya and Young Greens, who distributed the tickets to families and adults with learning disabilities.
As a result, Senya's 2-1 defeat was watched by a rather quieter group of Senyan fans, though the fans that did travel did sing throughout the match.
Both the manager and players criticised the Mercurian authorities, noting they lacked the momentum that usually comes with playing infront of Senya's notorious ultras. Senya had played both their visits to Birgeshir and Craitland with their ultras, who had set off flares as part of pyroshows in both matches, with both matches passing without incident. Senya's two home games also passed without incident so far, despite the use of pyrotechnics.
The Naldas statement read:
The Naldas have also said they plan to protest during the upcoming match against Craitland.Naldas are extremely disappointed with the Mercurian authorities and their decision to prohibit pyro in the FMMA. Whilst we acknowledge that pyro is potentially dangerous, the Naldas pride ourselves in requiring all our member hold pyro-licenses, and our relationship with the authorities has been fantastic in allowing for the use of pyrotechnics in stadiums without endangering other match going fans. Pyrotechnics are an integral part of both football supporter culture and Senyan society at a large. Senyans use flares all the time, at sports matches, in celebrations, and so we view this ban as distinctly anti-Senyan in nature.
The Senyan FA, who liaise with the Naldas, have officially lodged a complaint with the FMF about the ban, stating that whilst they "acknowledge Mercury's concerns about the use of pyro, Senyan fans have who bring pyro are all trained in its use and would likely have welcome the ejection of non-pyro license holders. As a result, Mercury potentially put fans at risk with an authorised pyroshow. Thankfully, the Naldas gave the tickets to other fans, but this amounts to discrimination against Senyan cultural norms. The FMF, as an international organisation, should not tolerate such behaviour".
Senya and Mercury have traditionally enjoyed a close friendship both politically and culturally, but whilst Senya did beat Mercury in the 2019 FMF World Cup final, on the football field this friendship has largely endured, as both Senya and Mercury have deemed more local rivals, such as Gerenia and Nova England, to be more fierce rivals. But with this latest development, this could spell the end of pleasantries between Senyan and Mercurian football fans.