Sunday 21 February 2021, 1:20pm
A statement from Head of AFLNT Stuart Totham:
Enough is Enough
After being informed of the reported incidents at TIO Stadium yesterday, AFLNT have had enough of this disgraceful conduct at the footy. It is not acceptable and it has to stop now.
Footy is an enjoyable, passionate pursuit and one many people invest their time into. We offer a safe place for participants to play the game of AFL and for the community to come and watch. We want to keep it that way. To be confronted with this type of poor conduct is totally unacceptable.
Accepting responsibility is required to protect the environment at the footy and to do something positive about the issue. This is not only about the incident at TIO Stadium yesterday afternoon but following a number of incidents of poor behaviour both on match day and outside of footy. Footy is not a place to come and settle a score.
Individuals involved in these incidents need to accept responsibility and consequences. If they want to continue to be part of our game, changes need to be made or we will encourage these individuals to do something else. If you wish to continue this behaviour, you are not welcome at the footy and those individuals and clubs can expect harsh sanctions.
We are in this together. We need strong, clear leadership from all clubs on this issue. If this type of conduct is enabled, it poses a serious threat to the footy brand, clubs, community as a whole and future growth and vibrancy of our game.
This issue should not detract from the terrific TIO NTFL season we have had and what a cracking finals series we have coming up across all our junior and senior grades.
With regard to the incident at TIO Stadium yesterday, I will be personally reaching out to every Club President to ensure this message is heard. AFLNT will also work closely with police, clubs and others to ensure we understand all that occurred yesterday. If any further action is required, we will comment further at the appropriate time.
