Football hoons to get the boot

By Ben Hope
THE Dandenong and District Junior Football League (DDJFL) will welcome any new laws that deal with bad behaviour at games after the Victorian Government announced sporting clubs would have to get tough or risk losing government funding.
DDJFL general manager Shaun Connell said the league wanted to encourage respect for umpires and other players and already had guidelines in place to help clubs deal with offenders.
“We want to discourage anti-social behaviour within junior sport and this is reinforced though our rules’ current guidelines,” Connell said.
Early this week the Victorian Government announced sporting clubs will be required to take a zero-tolerance approach to bad behaviour or risk losing their share of $210 million in government funding.
The code covers violent or abusive behaviour, vilification, discrimination, sexual harassment and failure to maintain a safe environment.
Sports Minister James Merlino said Victoria’s 16,000 community sporting clubs would need to comply with the accord, which set strong standards for players, spectators and officials.
“Victorians love their sport and our grassroots sporting clubs and associations play an integral role in ensuring communities are strong, happy, healthy and active,” Mr Merlino said.
“The Victorian Government is a proud supporter of grassroots sport and in the past decade we have provided more than $210 million to the local clubs that are vital to our communities.
“But there is a small minority which oversteps the mark and does the wrong thing.”
Minister Merlino said the code of conduct was developed in consultation with Victorian sporting bodies including AFL Victoria and would send a loud and clear message that bad behaviour had no place in community sport.
Although he had not yet had the opportunity to read through the proposed changes Connell said the DDJFL would welcome the new framework to reinforce the work it already did to provide the right environment at junior footy games.
“The new laws are most certainly something we would welcome; I would see it as enhancing what we already have in place,” Connell said.
“We already have a code of conduct through the Kids First program that was introduced with AFL Victoria and supported by the State Government.”
Connell said the Kids First Program at the DDJFL had already gone a long way to improving parents’ behaviour at matches by providing resources to the clubs on how to deal with bad behaviour.
“The way our clubs manage behaviour is by having parents sign off on our code of conduct as well as the coaches.”
“It provides a formal framework that gives parents a good idea on setting the right example for the kids. It also gives the kids and parents an ownership in providing the right environment.”
Mr Merlino said Victoria’s 84 sporting associations must sign up to the new Code of Conduct by 1 July, or they will not receive funding from Sport and Recreation Victoria.