Footy moots 'white maggot' ban
By Adrian Tame and Anthony Black
April 29, 2007 12:00
Gabba has anti-sledging rules in place
Umpires Association says sledging 'pathetic'
Salvation Army has 'no problem with sledging'
AFL Umpires Association chief Bill Deller has called for spectators who use the time-honoured sledge at any AFL match to be thrown out.
The Gabba has ruled fans who yell the age-old term at Brisbane Lions' games will be evicted instantly.
Mr Deller said the ban should be introduced across Australia.
"It's not fun and it's not tradition. It's pathetic and I would welcome a ban on its use across the country," Mr Deller said this week.
The Gabba's surprise move is part of a zero tolerance approach to crowd behaviour at the stadium.
Officials have told Brisbane Lions member Garry Edwards, 58, that fans will be evicted if they use the term.
But the ban has prompted widespread anger.
Well-known Collingwood supporter Joffa Corfe described Gabba officials as "the Gestapo" and said the term should not be compared with use of foul language.
And the Salvation Army has backed him.
Fans at every ground in the country have used the words "white maggot" to describe umpires for generations.
But Mr Deller will have none of it.
"It's not affectionate. It's abuse, plain and simple, and it's bad for both the recruitment and retention of umpires," he said.
Mr Corfe disagreed.
"Calling an umpire a white maggot is as Australian as having a barbecue," he said.
"They'll need to start giving away Band-Aids at the gate so we can stick them over our gobs."
Mr Corfe said he was evicted from the Gabba two years ago for the offence of standing up.
"I've had my run-in with the Gestapo at the Gabba. A four-foot-nothing usher had me thrown out by Queensland police for standing up and supporting one of our boys in the goal square," he said.
"So this doesn't surprise me, but it would be a tragedy if it spread round the country.
"These people are catering for the theatregoer, not the footy fan.
"The problem with umpires nowadays is that they think the game is about them. It's not."
The Salvation Army is opposed to any move to make the ban national.
Spokesman Major Brad Halse said: "Sometimes political correctness runs mad in this country and there is over sanitisation in a lot of areas and this is one of them.
"I think it's extraordinary.
"The AFL should concentrate on outlawing obscene language, not a term like 'white maggot'."
A spokesman for Telstra Dome refused to comment on the issue, referring the Sunday Herald Sun to the ground's website, which includes the following: "Patrons must refrain from using foul or abusive language and from making racial or threatening remarks or gestures."
Two MCG spokesmen failed to respond to several requests for comment.
