10 of South Australia’s badly behaved sports people exposed
From predator referees, a soccer player turned drug runner and a former SANFL player’s horrific DV rampage, these are some of SA’s worst behaving sports people.
Bad sports can be found in all games and pastimes – and South Australia is no exception.
From a soccer player turned drug runner to a former SANFL player’s horrific DV rampage these are some of the state’s worst examples – both on and off the field – of sports people pushing the boundaries and flat out breaking the rules.
Nathan Wieland
A decorated basketball referee who sexually abused teenage boys he met through dating apps is a “monster who thrives on causing pain and suffering”, a court has heard.
Two of Nathan Wieland’s seven victims denounced him in the District Court – then stood up and walked out when he read a pre-written apology.
In their victim impact statements, the men – who were 15 and 16 when Wieland abused them – said he had “destroyed parts” of them they were still “struggling to rebuild”.
Wieland, 46 of Ingle Farm, was the Central Australia Basketball League’s 2014 referee of the year, and has also refereed for the NBL and WNBL.
In July 2023, he was arrested and accused of child sex offending, prompting Basketball SA to write to parents as the number of charges laid against him increased.
Wieland pleaded guilty to seven counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, six counts of procuring a child for sex and one count of being an adult who sexually abused a child.
Prosecutors, in exchange, withdrew a total of 48 other charges.
The court heard Wieland – who appeared by video link – first made contact with each of his victims through dating apps.
It also heard all seven victims told Wieland they were aged 15 and 16 but he continued to abuse them, including at times when they were wearing school uniforms.
Judge Telfer remanded Wieland in custody for sentencing in January.
William Johnston
He could have been competing against Australia break dancer Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn for a shot at representing Australia in the Paris Olympics – but instead this young Adelaide dancer fell into drugs.
William Gilbert Johnston, 23, of Unley, avoided jail after advertising drugs on Snapchat and then selling the illegal substances, including mixed cocaine and MDA pills, to an undercover police officer on several occasions in 2023.
Johnston pleaded guilty to four count of trafficking a controlled drug.
The court heard Johnston was previously on track to competing at the Youth Olympics in break dancing.
“You had qualified to represent Australia at the Youth Olympics in break dancing. A lack of funding meant you are unable to attend,” District Court Judge Ian Press said.
He said despite this, Johnston was “at that time, committed to qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics”.
“Your arrest and conviction for drug trafficking disqualified you from representing Australia,” Judge Press said.
The court heard Johnston moved in with a man identified in court only as Mr S, who suggested he could sell cocaine and ecstasy to cover his rent and cocaine use.
Johnston was sentenced to three years and three months on home detention, with a non-parole period of one year and 11 months.
Colm O’Hare
A former successful boxer reverted back to dealing drugs after he was assaulted and told he needed to pay back the debt of suspected murder victim Trevor King.
Colm Patrick Francis O’Hare, 47, was jailed for eight years after years earlier stealing Mr King’s car which he was unaware was full of drugs and cash.
During sentencing, the District Court heard O’Hare was pulled over by police while riding a Ducati motorcycle in April 2022.
After searching his backpack police found $20,000 in cash, 218g of mixed methamphetamine and 130g of GHB.
A search of O’Hare’s house found further GHB and a tick list.
The court heard the methamphetamine was worth up to $150,000, while the GHB was worth up to $4500.
O’Hare, of Hackham, pleaded guilty to two counts of commercial drug trafficking.
The court heard O’Hare, who was born in Ireland, was a successful boxer until a knee injury at 19 caused him to turn to drugs.
Judge Matteo sentenced O’Hare to eight years jail, with a non-parole period of six years and five months.
The sentence was backdated to April 11, 2022.
Lewis Farquhar
A promising SA soccer player turned “trusted” Operation Ironside drug runner for a multimillion-dollar syndicate has been jailed for more than a decade for the “very large scale” drug offending.
Lewis Andrew Farquhar, 30, was among dozens of people arrested early on June 7, 2021, when law enforcement agencies disabled the encrypted AN0M application and pounced on its users.
At the time, he was living with his brother Stuart Farquhar in Mt Barker and together the pair interchangeably used the same encrypted AN0M device to receive instructions from senior figures in a criminal syndicate for storing, retrieving and transporting large amounts of methamphetamine and heroin.
Judge Emily Telfer said Lewis Farquhar had been a “talented sports person” who played professional soccer, including for state premier league teams including Adelaide City.
But Judge Telfer said he suffered injuries on the sports field which led him first to seek codeine for relief and later illicit drugs.
Lewis Farquhar pleaded guilty to four counts of trafficking in large commercial quantity of a controlled drug and three counts of trafficking in a commercial quantity of a controlled drug.
His older brother, Stuart Farquhar, 32, entered earlier guilty pleas to the same charges and was jailed for eight years and nine months, with a non-parole period of seven years and eight days.
After a discount for his later plea, Judge Telfer jailed Lewis Farquhar for 11 years and four months, with a non-parole period of nine years and six weeks.
Mathew Vidic
A former SANFL star who held a petrol can over his wife’s head and threatened to burn her alive will spend at least two years behind bars.
District Court Judge Rauf Soulio jailed Mathew Vidic, 42, for his vile domestic abuse of his wife and mother of his children.
Vidic pleaded guilty to one count each of threatening to harm and threatening to kill after his wife recorded him as he repeatedly told her he would burn her alive in their Mitcham home last year.
In her victim impact statement, Vidic’s ex-wife, Julia Hodge – a teacher, mother and champion marathon runner – said those incidents were just parts of a “pattern” of abuse.
She said they were preceded by Vidic threatening to kill the family dog with a knife, and by him stealing her passport to prevent her competing overseas.
The crimes were followed, she said, by him repeatedly calling her from prison after his arrest.
In June 2023, while his children were at a friend’s home, Vidic’s ex-wife, Julia Hodge pretended to be asleep as Vidic emerged in the bedroom holding a jerry can full of fuel and flicking a lighter in his hand.
The court heard Vidic threatened to set Ms Hodge on fire before she was able to seek help from the neighbours who called emergency services.
Judge Soulio jailed Vidic for four years and four months, with a non parole period of two years and two months.
That sentence was backdated to June last year, meaning Vidic will be eligible for parole in August 2025.
Brett Allford
A “serious child sexual predator” who groomed 10 young girls over Snapchat and Instagram – buying them food, clothing and underwear in exchange for graphic images – was jailed for over two decades.
Brett Daniel Allford, of Edwardstown, slumped his head over video link from prison to the District Court as Judge Paul Muscat said he had very little prospects of rehabilitation, and would serve a lengthy sentence.
The former SANFL and SACA umpire pleaded guilty to soliciting child abuse material from young girls in the UK, but the court heard he had been “manipulating” his victims, sending them money for Uber Eats and Shein vouchers in exchange for their co-operation.
All 14 offences were committed against 10 girls between 2021 and 2022, with the court hearing Allford’s offending had been discovered after the father of one victim raised the alert with authorities in England.
Allford had used Snapchat and Instagram to solicit child abuse material from the girls, and had gone out of his way to hide the fact he was secretly recording their explicit video conversations.
Judge Muscat jailed Allford for 23 years, with a non-parole period of 17 years.
That sentence was backdated to his arrest, meaning Allford will be eligible for parole in October, 2039.
Craig Ratsch
A vigilant mother posed as her young daughter to catch a vile predator by linking him to his SA football club.
Despite the “persistent” messages, Craig Robert Leslie Ratsch, 30, could be out of jail in only five months after denying he was sexually attracted to children.
During sentencing, the District Court heard Ratsch began communicating with an 11-year-old girl over Snapchat.
The court heard the victim’s mother confiscated her iPad in March 2023 and became aware of Ratsch’s communications.
The victim’s mother assumed her daughter’s identity to uncover information about him.
The court heard Ratsch sent nude photos and videos to the victim and sought sexualised photos from her, despite her mother telling him she was in her last year of primary school.
The mother made contact with Victoria police on multiple occasions to report his conduct but was told there was nothing that could be done.
Taking matters into her own hands, the victim’s mother asked Ratsch to send a photo of his face, which he did.
She was then able to successfully uncover his identity and location and made contact with the football club he played for.
Ratsch then handed himself in to the police.
The Evanston father pleaded guilty to communicating with the intention of procuring a child to engage in sexual activity.
A psychologist found Ratsch did not meet the diagnostic criteria for a pedophilic disorder.
Ratsch was jailed for 12 months, with a non-parole period of five months.
Rolando Garcia-Callaba
A dance teacher who raped a woman and indecently assaulted another after they gave him lifts home has been confronted by one of his victims in court.
Rolando Garcia-Callaba, 38, is now in custody after one of the women he preyed on said she had lost her faith in people because of his vile act.
During Garcia-Callaba’s trial, the District Court heard the first victim gave Garcia-Callaba a lift home in 2017.
Ahura Kalali, for the prosecution, told the court Garcia-Callaba asked her to pull over before he exposed himself to her.
The court heard Garcia-Callaba then grabbed her hand by force to touch it.
The court heard another woman who attended gave Garcia-Callaba a lift at the end of a different night out.
Mr Kalali said Garcia-Callaba asked her to pull over and pushed the seat back, before raping her.
Garcia-Callaba was found guilty by a jury of rape, compelling sexual self-manipulation and indecent assault.
He has been remanded in custody with his charges adjourned until February.
Shaquile Burgoyne
An SA ice hockey star hit another player who had just gone professional with such a forceful punch that he was left unconscious and housebound – before fleeing the scene.
Shaquile Burgoyne, 25, was sentenced in the District Court for his involvement in a group brawl outside Adelaide Oval in October 2021.
The player for the Kaurna Boomerangs – SA’s Indigenous ice hockey team – previously pleaded guilty to intentionally causing harm to another.
In sentencing, Judge Geraldine Davison said the single punch was “life-changing” and had left the victim housebound and reliant on people around him – after he had been drafted to a professional ice hockey team.
The punch came after a drunken brawl sparked by an uninvited guest.
“During the course of the melee, you punched the victim once,” Judge Davison said. “You did this forcefully. It caused him to fall backwards, landing headfirst on to the ground whilst facing upwards. He was rendered unconscious.
“The victim and his family have had to change their lives and deal with the consequences.”
Judge Davison said Burgoyne was a member of Indigenous ice hockey team the Kaurna Boomerangs, and the victim – also a keen ice hockey player – had recently been drafted to play professionally in Adelaide.
Burgoyne was sentenced to two years, four months and 16 days with a non-parole period of one year and two months, which was suspended upon him entering a good behaviour bond for three years.
Erin Gold
A burlesque dancer who made the “incredibly stupid” decision to deliver drugs as part of her boyfriend’s dark-web enterprise walked free from court.
Erin May Gold, 35, was handed a suspended sentence in the District Court after she became entangled in the “highly efficient” online drug syndicate created by her partner, former police officer Thomas James Booker.
During her sentencing, the court heard Gold would deliver packages of drugs to Booker’s customers and would indirectly benefit from her role by living a relatively extravagant lifestyle.
Judge Joana Fuller said Gold, a professional burlesque dancer, had limited involvement in the enterprise as she was not involved in the creation or its day-to-day running.
Gold pleaded guilty to multiple counts of drug trafficking after she was arrested at her former workplace, the Adelaide office of national accounting firm William Buck in 2021.
She was sentenced to two years and 10 months jail, with a non-parole period of 18 months.
However, due to Gold’s prior impeccable character and good rehabilitation efforts, the sentence was suspended on a $50, two year good behaviour bond.
Gold’s ex-boyfriend Booker pleaded guilty to more than 50 drug trafficking and money laundering charges and was jailed for 21 years, with a non-parole period of 15 years and two months.
Booker was the mastermind behind the most modern of drug syndicates – running on the dark web, dealing in millions of dollars worth of drugs, fuelled by cryptocurrency and flourishing during the pandemic.
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