WITH not much to do on Sunday after taking my wife and two sons (aged 3 and 3 months) to the Rotary Community Markets, I decided that we would go watch a local FAW fixture.
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We arrived at the ground, set up the chairs and blankets and had the umbrellas on stand-by.
Within minutes of kick-off a penalty was awarded and in a very entertaining, competitive and sometimes spiteful encounter, there were five goals scored.
But sadly the game was overshadowed by the amount of foul-mouthed profanities that seemed to be every second word from most of the players on the pitch.
A lot of this was directed towards opposing players, sometimes teammates but most of all the referee, who by the way was a woman, who I also thought did an excellent job.
But would a yellow or red card handed out to the first person who started the unnecessary language have curbed the constant swearing? I don’t know, but surely it would have given the players something to think about before launching into a foul-mouthed tirade.
To emphasise this there was a crowd of about 50 people, so every sound is amplified, because usually it’s the only sound.
Nonetheless, I assumed that the first-grade game would have had a little more professionalism and they would get on with the job of playing hard but fair football.
How wrong was I; if anything the profanities got worse, so much so we were lucky to stay until the half-time break.
I thought at that point my wife and very curious, impressionable 3-year-old had heard way too much.
If anyone spoke like that in front of my wife and/or children in the street they would be verbally challenged, at the very least.
Don’t get me wrong, I was no angel when I played sport, but a little tact and respect goes a long way on and off the field.
— TROY HAWKINS,
Wodonga
