Unprecedented: Southern football league abandons a senior game

The Southern league has called off a match between Keysborough and Skye, what would have been their first meeting since Jojo Amaah’s cardiac arrest. PAUL AMY and TYLER LEWIS investigate why.

Jojo Amaah suffered a cardiac arrest while playing for Keysborough in a local footy match against Skye. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

A suburban football league has taken the unprecedented step of calling off a senior game because of potential crowd trouble.

Southern league clubs Keysborough and Skye were scheduled to play at Keysborough Reserve on Saturday, July 1.

But the senior, reserves and thirds matches will be abandoned, with both teams given two points in each grade.

Earlier in the season Keysborough player Jojo Amaah, a male model, fell to the ground about 50m off the ball in the senior game at Carrum Downs Recreation Reserve.

His heart stopped for about five minutes and he was revived on the ground by trainers from both clubs and a nurse who was watching her husband play for Skye.

During his stay at The Vincent Heart Hospital, doctors discovered a heart condition called myocardial bridging syndrome.

Amaah underwent six hours of surgery.

His family is adamant he had no history of seizures before the incident.

The Southern league investigated the episode and found there was “too much conflicting evidence to substantiate a reportable’’ charge.

Two weeks ago Amaah said in a statement released through Polaris Lawyers that he was aware “some people within the league may be planning on taking matters into their own hands at a game between Keysborough and Skye on July 1’’.

He said the possibility of “more violence and harm is abhorrent to me and my family’’.

Lee Hartman says there would have been a risk involved if the match went ahead. Picture: Peter Ristevski

“We urge all players, spectators and club and league officials to remain calm, to await the findings of a full investigation, and to avoid doing anything which might cause further harm and injury.’’

Southern league CEO Lee Hartman has confirmed the July 1 match will not go ahead.

“There’s still a bit of pressure on the situation with social commentary and those sort of things so we thought it was in the best interests of all parties not to play this time around,’’ he said.

“We’ll keep working with both clubs into the future because they’ll have to play each other at some stage again, being in the same division.’’

Hartman said both clubs were “comfortable’’ with the decision.

He said they believed the situation had settled down “but there’s still the keyboard warriors having their two bob’s worth and that was a risk when we weighed it all up at the end of the day’’.

“I think the players were right to play and they would have been fine. We had support from the clubs themselves. But we didn’t want people turning up and grandstanding and putting the issue on the front page again when it doesn’t need to be.’’

Hartman said it was the first time in his many years as a football administrator that he had called off a game because of the prospect of crowd trouble.

Skye president Michael Kane said: “The Skye Football Club respects the decision made by the Southern Football Netball League. Our club is now focusing on playing Caulfield at home.

“We think it’s the best decision for both clubs and the league, and we will work out what 2024 looks like between both clubs at the end of the year.”

CODE Sports has sought comment from Keysborough.

Originally published as Unprecedented: Southern football league abandons a senior game