What Happens When Your Child Is Assaulted And Injured In A School Football Game In The ACT??
A parent and several young players who play for a Premier League Club in the ACT told a frightening Football story at training last week. It’s a very worrying story on Junior Football for every parent with a child playing Football in the ACT, particularly when they play in schools sports Football tournaments / fixtures. This one seems a long way from resolved.
Apparently there was a School's Football tournament last week in the ACT. The players represent their school and in ordinary way of Football you would think it would be a fun thing to do.
Until something goes very, very wrong!
A young player was "king hit" by another player and sent off. The alleged offender is said to be an ACTAS squad player. Both players were registered with the FFA and participate in Capital Football competitions / fixtures. The Referee's report has been provided to the father of the victim, confirms the send off for "violent conduct" and would appear to warrant substantial disciplinary action.
But by whom? Not a question you usually ask in football.
If this were a weekend Capital Football round game, the League Manager would have already taken action. It’s a “no brainer”!
But this game was conducted in the cloudy environment of ACT schools sports, where the key parties in football such as Capital Football and ACTAS have Memorandum of Understanding(s) to ensure they are not engaged if things go wrong on the field of play. And they do go wrong! But this is all Football and the public is unlikely to condone these artificial constructs around participation in the game – particularly when things go wrong.
The young player that is alleged to have conducted himself in this violent fashion during the game, is said to be an ACTAS scholarship holder and player. Now doesn't that raise the bar a bit?
The profile of this incident is potentially huge. At the moment it has the appearance of a gormless adminstrative and disciplinary shambles!
So what did the father of the victim do?
I might add he was present at the ground when it happened and by his own account was horrified and fearful for his son when he was struck and fell to the ground. All parents can just imagine how sickening that must have been.
As his son recovered and he got treatment for him, concern and worry turned to anger and dismay. Let's take it from there...
The first and most reasonable reaction by the family of the victim (and the victim) was to want to know what penalty would be imposed on the offending player. And that's where this story begins to amaze, frustrate and disappoint. All that talk about putting the game (football) in good order – is in this case, just so much nonsense! Capital Football and ACTAS have seem to have attempted to write themselves out of the game.
The father has been unable to get Capital Football or ACTAS interested in taking any sort of substantial disciplinary action against the offending player. When I say "substantial", I mean a disciplinary process through football’s peak body, ensuring the player registered with the FFA would be liable to the range of penalties handed out for this type of offence. Not an unreasonable expectation I would have thought. It never occurred to the family of the victim that a player would go unpunished by Capital Football. Nor has anyone else who has heard the story. As to ACTAS – hmmm – we’ll get to them?
It seems Capital Football’s position is that the game was not run under their auspices. No doubt that's true. But it’s a curious response.
The father reports that the ACTAS response is advice to the effect that they (ACTAS) have a "Memorandum of Understanding" with the school sports organisation and this MOU appears to preclude them (ACTAS) from having anything to do with the incident. They prefer to accept any action the school may think is appropraite to take, as constituting adequate disciplinary action. Their hands are clean as it were. Well, are they? Makes you wonder why ACTAS allow their players to participate if this is a risk worthy of an MOU? And what about the player’s contract with ACTAS, which contains substantial disciplinary provisions, for just the sort of incident contained in the referee’s report? When does that document and ACTAS’s responsibility to the game and the community come into play?
ACTAS are not yet off the hook in the minds of many, any more than Capital Football. I wonder if ACTAS would be quite so sanguine if it had been the ACTAS player who had been "king hit"? I would hope not! I'll wager that the first reaction of any parent with a child at ACTAS, would be to torment the ACTAS staff with demands to have the offending player subject to disciplinary action by the primary "football" organisation in the ACT and that means Capital Football! Not the school the offending player attends, though more power to the Principal or Headmaster who suspends the student / player. ACTAS (nor Capital Football) should be limited or influenced by any other parties disciplinary action. The fact that the school may do something does not absolve them from their own disciplinary action – in fact they are obliged to act. Any argument to suggest there would be some sort of “double jeopardy” if more than one party disciplined the offending player is just so much rubbish.
At this point, neither Capital Football nor ACTAS appear to have done anything that approximates adequate disciplinary action. On that basis, have they met their responsibilities to the community and the game? The parents of the victim would probably argue they have not and that’s the view of most I have heard speak around the grounds on this one.
One thing that further complicates participation in school football in the context of this violent conduct on the field / injury, would be if the offending player were to be someone who just decided to make up the numbers in the school team and not a registered player in football with the FFA. In these circumstances Capital Football cannot call the offending player to account in the ordinary disciplinary manner. They could make strong representations to the ACT Government, they could support the parents of the victim. But it is already obvious from the current matter, they will most likely do absolutely nothing! In this case to hand, both players are FFA registered players and playing within the Capital Football competition.
In all these circumstances, I wonder why any registered player with the FFA, any Premier League Club, any Junior football Club operating within the ambit of Capital Football's jurisdiction in football, would encourage any parent to allow their child to play school sports football. The message is clear - don't have anything to do with it. Why? Because in the worst case, you could foresee any two bob young lout without any other connection to football, decides to have a game for the school and create mayhem, a referee can send off the player and report the incident, and the only thing you can hope will follow, is that a Principal or Headmaster will take some sort of disciplinary action. Some hope! Principals of public schools have precious little authority, often as not requiring departmental approval, while private schools have much greater authority if they choose to exercise it. All the more reason for Capital Football and ACTAS to take a strong leadership position on discipline in schools sports football. Their present position falls well short.
Again, it begs the question - why would Capital Football engage with school sports football without ensuring the arrangements for the registered players in that competition, are the same as if it were a Capital Football fixture?
If a registered player is injured, the victim of violent conduct (to name the offence to hand in this matter), you would expect them to be on the front foot, supporting the family and player. If the offending player were also a registered player, you would think Capital Football would have no difficulty at all in citing the offending player. They can do it now, their is nothing to stop them. Alas, that is not their preferred course of action, preferring instead to seemingly hide behind an MOU that looks as though it is in place to avoid the situation that has now arisen and that goes to the very core of good conduct within the laws of the game. The matter that is the subject of this discussion appears to be an incident that reflects very poorly on the game. And among junior players!
The present arrangements appear to favour ACTAS, but do they reflect well on the game? If Capital Football need to take a stronger line with ACTAS on this matter, it would be a good thing to do.
Why ACTAS would allow their players to go anywhere near a school sports fixture under the present arrangements is beyond me. These elite players don't get to come back to clubs within Capital Football competitions. As this example illustrates, many things are put at risk. Then to appear to have declined to take appropriate disciplinary action against the offending player, imposing the sort of penalty that would have ordinarily accrued were the player to go before a Capital Football disciplinary tribunal, is difficult to understand. Indeed, why would ACTAS simply ask Capital Football to cire the player and lets the matter be resolved in the normal fashion with the Capital Football disputes and discipline process? ACTAS's own contractual arrangements with the player must surely have demanded substantial disciplinary action?
What an mess!
Apparently, the young fellow who is alleged to have assaulted the player during the game, was suspended from school for day. OK, that's a start, but my second thought when told of this punishment was that it constituted nothing more that a day's rest and recreation before going to training at ACTAS that afternoon! I am also advised that the offending player was stood down for game after the incident. OK, that’s a start – but one game!! Is that all ACTAS thinks this conduct is worth in the scheme of things? Amazing.
The father hadn't got around to speaking to the FFA or writing to the ACT Government when he spoke of the matter to the Nearpost Local.
Thus far, only the ACT Department of Education, through the school that the alleged offending player attends, seems to have reacted in an appropriate fashion over this very serious matter and probably to the limit of the Principal’s authority.
The lingering question is repeated again and again on the sidelines by players and parents - Just who runs Football in the ACT? Is there nothing else that could or should be done in this matter? I would suggest that we have not yet scratched the surface on this one.
So much is being done to reduce violent and abusive conduct in Football by the FFA and Capital Football. What prevents Capital Football from taking independent administrative action to discipline the offending player. Probably nothing accept the willingness to do so!
Both Capital Football and the ACT Government are key stakeholders in the ACTAS Football Program. They pay the bills! The FFA is the third party in this arrangement for this NTC. Under what circumstances can any of them let any incident of violent conduct by a player in an elite and prestigious program like the ACTAS Football program, go unremarked and unpunished in a fashion that is consistent with the ordinary scale of punishments for this type of offence in the game (and we are pretty low on the scale in the ACT, but not this low). No matter that it was not an ACTAS or Capital Football or FFA sanctioned game. It’s all Football. Thus far the reaction by those in football with the authority to take action has been disappointing and inadequate. The FFA, Capital Football and ATCAS have collective responsibilities to the well being of the game and the safety of the players that go well beyond the convenience of an MOU or any other administrative contrivance.
The very first thing that is at risk for the offending player is continuation in the elite program by cancellation of the player scholarship. There is no shortage of young players desirous of the chance to join the ACTAS program. Who needs badly behaved players at any level in the game. A quick word from the coach is not good enough - not by a long shot. A School Principal or Headmaster’s dissatisfaction, not matter how well intentioned or heart felt is nothing in this matter. ACTAS is staffed by Football professionals, they do very good work, and one must anticipate that they would not welcome any player who is alleged to have behaved so a badly in a game. But you would not ask them to adjudicate this matter, any more than Capital Football would ask a Club coach to do so on a Referees report of the same behaviour in a club game by one their players.
As to Capital Football, I would be surprised if it was not within their remit to take independent action on this matter, based on the referee's report and within the meaning of the FFA's Code of Conduct. They need to take a position and make it publicly known. Resting on an MOU in this matter has the appearance of acceptance and that can’t be right , because they do so much to stop this sort of behaviour. The offending player, as an ACTAS player competes in a Capital Football competition (PL Pathways) and that cannot be ignored.
What would the FFA's reaction be to this debacle? I have no idea. Why would they want a player to go unpunished, who is likely to participate in future NTC Challenges, or indeed, seek higher representation.
The message to this young player who is alleged to have behaved in this violent fashion on the field of play, might be that he has risked everything in Football. The bloody lot! But how can he know that when to the best of anyone's knowledge (especially the victim and his parents) the only consequence has been a days rest at home and perhaps stood down for a game.
Just ask yourself one thing (apologies to the victim and his parents) - What would we be talking about now if the young player who had been "king hit", had simply never regained consciousness, had played his last game of football that day, his life dramatically diminished by serious brain damage or, heaven forbid, his death? That's the stark reality. It cannot go unremarked or unpunished by those responsible for the offending player in Football, within the real football world, the one the young ACTAS player has a scholarship we fund, to enable him to be a part of in the ACT and perhaps go further in the game. The fact that he is in an elite program is no reason to avoid disciplinary action. The standards and expectation are higher the further he goes. The fact the school suspended him for a day is no excuse to justify inaction by any other administrative/ disciplinary means in Football.
In the end, if the only redress the father (any parent ) of the victim has is to seek some sort of civil legal means, we have completely failed in football, our policies in regard to conduct and discipline in the game compromised, and more than all this, we have completely failed the young player that is the victim and his family.
Time for Capital Football to take the lead on this one.