
A police investigation into an assault at a children鈥檚 football tournament in Mount Roskill is ongoing, as an advocate for community sport says there has been an increase in problematic sideline behaviour.
It comes after the Herald reported a female football coach was allegedly knocked unconscious by an opposition fan while walking to the bathroom during a junior tournament in Auckland on September 29.
The Ellerslie FC coach was reportedly attacked from behind by a man, shortly after her under-10 girls鈥� team had beaten a Papakura FC team in a semifinal match.
The incident was at Keith Hay Park and left the coach needing hospital treatment.
A police spokesperson told the Herald: 鈥淧olice are continuing to investigate the serious assault of a woman in Mount Roskill last month.
鈥淭he woman was assaulted by a man on the sidelines of a football match at Keith Hay Park at about 11.30am on Sunday 29 September. The woman was transported to hospital for checks and then discharged. Police inquiries into the matter are ongoing.鈥�
Eyewitnesses say the man had been making threatening gestures, including throat-slitting motions, at Ellerslie spectators throughout the game. The attack allegedly occurred as the coach was on her way to the bathroom.
The violent outburst delayed the tournament鈥檚 final by 30 minutes.
Auckland Sport and Recreation development lead Simone Spencer leads Sport New Zealand鈥檚 Good Sports programme, which has a focus on sideline behaviour.
Spencer told the Herald the incident was 鈥渟hocking鈥� and 鈥渢here鈥檚 just no place for that in sport鈥�.
- Watch: Vile threat before horrific assault on innocent football ref
- Ellerslie FC coach hospitalised after allegedly being struck by parent in junior tournament
鈥淭hat incident in particular was at the really extreme end and unfortunately it鈥檚 not isolated,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not something just in Auckland, but unfortunately around the country, around the world, et cetera 鈥� and in a really broad range of sports.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tricky time for lots of people in terms of things like cost of living and if you鈥檝e got worries in your personal life. When [parents] turn up to the field on the day, potentially you end up behaving in a way that you wouldn鈥檛 normally.
鈥淭hese types of incidents spoil [quality experiences] for young people and adults involved as well.鈥�
Sport New Zealand鈥檚 Good Sports is a culture change initiative aiming to create positive sporting experiences for children by educating and supporting the key adult influencers in youth sport 鈥� particularly parents, caregivers, coaches, teachers and sport leaders.
The initiative initially designed by Aktive as a Sport NZ-funded Active Communities Project has developed over recent years becoming a national approach and is being expanded across national and regional bodies.
Spencer said her organisation had found a recent increase in inappropriate sideline behaviour.
鈥淥ur feedback is based anecdotally on what we hear from those organisations in terms of how much time they鈥檙e having to spend managing these types of issues and addressing these things, which is not where they want to spend their time.
鈥淭he other piece is around helping adults to really understand what 鈥榞ood鈥� looks like when you do turn up to support and there鈥檚 no manual on how to do that. So, in many instances, people are incredibly passionate and they turn up and they鈥檙e just a little bit misguided in terms of where they go and how they behave.鈥�
Spencer said what they describe as 鈥渨histle sports鈥� such as rugby, rugby league, football, netball, and basketball are particularly rife for inappropriate sideline behaviour.
鈥漌hich isn鈥檛 to say it doesn鈥檛 exist in other codes, but they do see a higher volume.
Volunteers in sport needed to be 鈥渧alued and appreciated鈥�, Spencer added.
is a multimedia journalist in the 九一星空无限 sports team. She鈥檚 a football commentator and co-host of the Football Fever podcast and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a fulltime journalist.
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