THE chairman of the Central Murray Football Netball League has slammed the actions of a Cohuna Kangas supporter, saying “there is no excuse” for interfering in a match.
The CMFNL board fined the club $250 for breaching the league’s code of conduct after a supporter approached the Lake Boga huddle at quarter time of the two sides’ round 5 clash.
The supporter has been suspended by Cohuna after an internal investigation, but CMFNL chairman John Brookshaw was concerned about the initial response to the May 7 incident.
“We think Cohuna have been proactive in dealing with it, but it is a pity they didn’t deal with it initially … the follow up was good and we are happy with that,” he told The Guardian.
“His behaviour was inappropriate by pushing the player in the chest and entering the field of play (during a match).
“There is no excuse for this sort of behaviour, there are no mitigating circumstances and they should have made sure it didn’t happen, but it did, and they were fined.”
The Kangas are the first club in more than a year to have breached the code of conduct and they will be on thin ice for the next three years.
The black mark will remain on the club’s record until 2019, meaning any further breaches will attract heavier penalties.
Mr Brookshaw also strongly recommended Cohuna review the location of their coaches’ boxes.
The relocation could potentially move huddles further away from each other to prevent another altercation in the future.
Both Cohuna Kangas and Lake Boga were contacted for comment.
