South Bunbury Football Club ordered to have security at next home game after spectator’s female umpire abuse

The football club in the State’s South West at the centre of a racism and sexism investigation has now been ordered to have two security guards at its next game after one of its spectators made “extreme” sexist comments to a female umpire. South Bunbury Football Club has been handed a $1000 fine after failing to identify the spectator who verbally abused the boundary umpire during their home game on Saturday evening that was so distressing she was unable to finish the match. The club was told it had until Wednesday night to identify who made the comments, but the South West Football League has confirmed they were unable to do so. In a statement, the League said South Bunbury must now provide two security guards to patrol the area for its round 21 match against Bunbury. The fine comes after the club was fined $200 when one of its male players racially vilified Carey Park forward Hayden Yarran during a league match on May 14. South Bunbury also failed to identify the player that made the comment. Mr Yarran said he was called a “yowie” while competing in the match — a comment that he said left him feeling worthless. The incident prompted South Bunbury women’s coach Max Jetta — who had led the side to three straight premierships — to quit due to the impact it had on his mental health. Days later, the women’s team donned shirts with his initials “MJ” and a crown on them to show their support for their coach. An unprecedented mass exodus of senior players from the women’s team then occurred following a number of behind-closed-doors meetings between the team and officials. The team became so depleted it was forced to forfeit its round 12 match at the weekend and hours later the league confirmed the club had withdrawn the women’s team from the 2022 season. South Bunbury president Leigh Wright said the club did not condone negative comments or abuse of umpires. “Following the final siren of the game between Donnybrook FC) and SBFC I was advised that there had been abuse of an umpire from a person in the SBFC spectator area,” Mr Wright said. “The president and the general manager of SBFC immediately made their way to the umpires change rooms and delivered personal apologies to all umpires officiating on the day. “Particular attention was given to the female umpire concerned and sincere (a) apology was delivered encouraging her to continue with her umpiring pursuits. “SBFC acknowledges that the game can not proceed without their efforts and we will be working hard to develop strong working relationships with umpires at all levels of the game. “It is extremely unfortunate that some individuals in the football community make negative comment about umpires, SBFC will continue to work hard in this space to educate members and supporters in this matter.”