San Jose Earthquakes Crackdown On the 1906 Ultras

We knew something was going to happen. There's been word from the 107ist was involved, the Portland Timbers FO, the San Jose Earthquakes FO. I'm sure there was even some people from the league office involved. What happened here in Portland was a very serious incident that nobody could allow to get out of hand.

Well, as of today, we know the repercussions of the 1906 Ultras' alleged participation in the scuffle here. Here's the statement in full:

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes released the following statement regarding the 1906 Ultras today after meeting with leadership from the supporters' group and MLS officials on Friday at Earthquakes headquartes in Santa Clara.

Due to the actions of the 1906 Ultras at the club's April 14 match against the Portland Timbers at JELD-WEN Field, the following sanctions have been applied:

The 1906 Ultras have been placed on indefinite probation
The 1906 Ultras' travel privileges have been indefinitely suspended until further notice
The 1906 Ultras will not be allowed to utilize controlled smoke at any match
Due to the probation, language within the group on matchdays will be strictly monitored

I'm very happy to see a relatively quick response, and am doubly happy to see that their away travel privileges have been suspended. Obviously, that's directly tied into the problem we had here last weekend.

That said, I wonder about some of these other things. No controlled smoke? Bad language will be strictly monitored? I think some things needed to change for the Ultras if their members were behind the incident here in Portland, but those two seem completely arbitrary to the problem at hand. The cynic inside of me wants to believe that the Earthquakes FO took this as an opportunity to crackdown on other things they don't like about their supporter group.

That said, I don't know the situation in San Jose. Perhaps these things were leading to the violence in general. In which case, it's probably a necessary action.

Hopefully the Ultras will take this as an opportunity to learn how to self-police themselves. Groups like the Timbers Army do a fairly good job at that and it pays off in the end with more freedoms. The Ultras can get there too. Hopefully, this will be seen as a stepping stone for them.

What do you think of the crackdown by the Earthquakes FO? Too much? Too little?