Ingle Farm footy club president sacked after pulling senior teams over COVID-19 fears
The president of an amateur footy club has been dumped after he forfeited the senior teams over fears a coronavirus-infected spectator had visited a game.
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An amateur football club has sacked its president for “bringing the club into disrepute” after he pulled its senior teams from playing, claiming it was due to a link to a COVID-19 cluster.
Ingle Farm president Mark Smart was removed from his position this week after he withdrew the Bulldogs senior men’s and women’s team from their respective competitions last Saturday.
Smart told the league a spectator, who attended Roma Mitchell Secondary College, was among the crowd during the Bulldogs’ C grade game on August 1.
In a statement, the club said Smart acted alone in forfeiting the teams, without consulting the club committee, coaches or players.
Ingle Farm’s division six, sixth tier reserves and C6 teams will again be sidelined this weekend.
The club said the Adelaide Footy League told it those involved needed to get clearance from SA Health before they could return to competitions.
Ingle Farm’s statement said “the club believed it was in its best interest to stand Smart down as he had acted alone in pulling the teams last weekend”.
The statement also said the club respected the Adelaide Footy League’s decision to sideline the teams again this weekend, saying the league had been “very, very good with supporting the club and giving the committee advice”.
“Our committee has been working around the clock to make things right and to create a positive vibe.
“Some players are hurting, but the numbers are good at training and they are all pretty keen to move forward.
“It’s about keeping the boys together now and hopefully looking towards next week, if not, definitely the future and reinvesting senior football here.”
The Bulldogs statement said the club was focused on creating a strong culture and was committed to “becoming a powerhouse” again.
The former Bulldogs president said last week he did not know anyone who had tested positive to COVID-19 but he did not want to take any chances or have his club potentially spread the deadly virus.
In response to the club’s claims he acted alone in making the decision, Smart said “chairmen live and die by the decisions made, committees help them get there”.
Adelaide Footy league chief executive John Kernahan said it was “way beyond the league’s jurisdiction to make judgment calls on COVID-19 risk profiles”.
Kernahan said “merely mentioning the acronym of COVID-19 to the league as a reason for not being able to play is akin to uttering Bomb at an airport, we take it very seriously”.
“Whether there was merit in their original caution or not, the horse has bolted.
“Our duty of care is to demonstrate similar caution on behalf of the wider football community until we are offered clearance by those authorised to do so and at this point we have not.”
Kernahan said the league would like to see Ingle Farm’s teams play next week and salvage a season in readiness for 2021.
Ingle Farm sits 10th on the division six ladder, ninth in the sixth tier reserves and eighth in C6 competition.