Football legend Phil Cleary to honour sister in second annual Coburg match against domestic violence

PHIL Cleary’s sister was murdered in a domestic violence incident more than three decades ago and the Coburg legend is still fighting to stop the epidemic.

Phil Cleary and Coburg footballer Billy Cannolo at Coburg City Oval ahead of this weekend’s Vicki Cleary Day. Picture: Hamish Blair

JUST weeks after blowing out the candles on a cake celebrating Phil Cleary’s 200th game at Coburg, his sister Vicki was murdered by her ex-partner, an event that changed the local football legend’s life forever.

Mr Cleary’s sister — who he described as “a much-loved Coburg girl” — will be honoured and celebrated at the second annual Vicki Cleary Day on Saturday, an event aimed to raise awareness about domestic violence.

While the Coburg and Collingwood VFL sides meet at Coburg City Oval, Mr Cleary will use the day as an opportunity to continue to promote a message he was been preaching in the 31 years since the murder.

“It’s a chance to remind people that the greatest danger women face is the man in their life,” he said. “Football can really (help) change the culture around it and I think that’s really important.”

A broadcaster, politician and author, Mr Cleary would retire as a player in the same year as Vicki’s death and go on to coach Coburg to a premiership the next year.

He still vividly remembers running into her in the carpark following a game just days before her death and “laughing and joking with her” before she was stabbed to death outside the kindergarten where she worked in Coburg by a man she had broken up with three months beforehand.

Coburg VFL general manager Sebastian Spagnuolo said the club was throwing open the gates on the day because “we want as many people as possible to hear the message around violence against women”.

“We take our role as the most professional football club in the area seriously from not only a football perspective but from a community perspective, where we can use our platform to highlight social issues,” he said.

The match starts at 2.10pm on Saturday, with gold coin donations to go towards Coburg’s community campaign.