President Ian Morrison said the association and its 19 member clubs have united to publicly condemn abusively disparaging comments and actions at football matches.

Morrison said the decision to highlight unacceptable behaviour was not a result of any particular incident, but in response to “heat of the moment” remarks often made.

“Unfortunately, this year we have been reminded that an element of society still displays an ignorance in behaviour that we as a professional body cannot ignore,” he said.

“Hence we are making a stance publicly denouncing vilification and discrimination in any form.

“We have employed greater penalties for players and officials, not just around game suspension, but also with a focus on education.

“We are working on our ability to impose penalties on supporters.”

Morrison said racial, gender, sexuality or religious vilification generally had no place in society.

He said offensive comments at matches, no matter their context or intention, must stop.

“We are a large body that come into contact with thousands of people each week and we want our product to be something that people can go and watch free of this behaviour,” he said.

“If it does happen, please do not hesitate in reporting this kind of behaviour to your club who then can report the issue to us.

“We are calling on everyone to play their part.”

The NTFA has a policy and procedures in place to deal with these incidents, in conjunction with the AFL, clubs and parties involved.