THE Central Murray Football Netball League (CMFNL) will move to establish a four-year master plan in an attempt to educate all footballers and netballers about the dangers of racial and religious vilification.
The CMFNL board announced a cultural awareness program will be set up following a racial discrimination charge after an incident between Mallee Eagles and Lake Boga on July 30.
All parties met at a conciliation meeting on Tuesday night and, while the details remain confidential, CMFNL Chair John Brookshaw said everybody was satisfied with the outcome.
“Both the individuals are very happy with the outcome and they reached an agreement, there was an apology and the CMFNL stepped in and agreed to run a cultural awareness program to help everyone understand what vilification means,” he told The Guardian.
“Instead of being reactive, we need to be proactive and introduce the program for all coaches, administrators and players in junior and senior sport.
“Instead of this happening, we want others to stand up and say it isn’t on. We want people to call people out for racism for what it really is.”
No punishment for the individual at fault was made public, but Mr Brookshaw confirmed the consequences were far reaching.
“He was totally remorseful and the player has punished himself and his club … there was a constructive solution which both parties agreed, I reckon it is terrific,” he said.
“I think this incident is just typical of what is going on in our media and our society at the moment. We have a lot of people who think it is okay to vilify ethnic or religious groups and it is based on ignorance, if we can remove that it will turn on the light for some people.
“This is a win-win for everyone. It sets a standard and we want to lead country football and netball and be the baseline to show how this education should be done.”
AFL Victoria was contacted but declined to comment until further meetings are held.
