The highly anticipated Darwin Football Association game between the top two sides was abandoned after an alleged fight erupted on Saturday.
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The alleged incident happened at the start of the third quarter with second placed Somerset 6.5 (41) leading top of the ladder South Burnie 3.9 (27).
The umpires came together and deemed there was doubt over the safety of players and umpires and decided to abandon the game.
DFA president Barry Dunham said the league would go through it’s standard process when dealing with reported offences and back the role of the umpires in dealing with the situation.
“What happened in the game on Saturday will be dealt like all situations through the league throughout the season and it will be heard in front of the tribunal,” Dunham said.
“As an association, we back our umpires if they believe the incident meant the game was unsafe to continue.”
“They have to think of players safety, their own safety and the safety of the junior kids that are running the boundary lines that could be involved in it.”
The two sides were playing for the Emma-Kate Roles Cup on the second running of Pink Day held by Somerset along with raising money for the McGrath Foundation for cancer research.
Dunham said that it was disappointing that the game for a great cause was marred by such an avoidable moment.
“It is sad for Emma and what she was doing, but it was an unfortunate thing that has happened.
“But in line with what AFL Tasmania put out at the start of the year, we have an obligation to protect umpires and player safety.”
As the DFA now prepares for finals, Dunham said this was not a look that the league wanted to portray as they build for the future.
“This is what we are seeing a lot more with the push for safety on the football field.
“We are hoping to get young junior footballers back into the association to play football and it is unfortunate that these things come around.”