Kiwi parents avoid sidelines ban

New Zealand will not follow an Australian idea to ban spectators at junior league matches. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

A proposed radical blanket ban on parents watching their children play in a junior Australian league competition because of sideline trouble is unlikely to be adopted by sporting codes in New Zealand.

But Kiwi parents can still expect to be barred or face criminal charges if their support at children's sports matches gets ugly and violent, administrators say.

The NSW Rugby League has endorsed the idea of a spectator ban from the sidelines of the Central Coast Junior Rugby League from round one of next year's competition after administrators said they were sick of dealing with trouble off the field, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The proposal came shortly after another incident in Sydney where a 42-year-old man needed facial surgery after three fathers from the opposition team beat him in front of his children at an under-12s match.

But New Zealand league general manager Peter Cordtz said while the organisation had processes to deal with sideline offenders a similar ban would not work here.

"Then again I think it's fair to say that some parents need to manage their expectations.

"Some parents think that what they see on TV in the NRL or State of Origin is what they should see on the field when their kids go to play on Saturday morning ... even some of the kids think they should be playing that way."

Mr Cordtz said among the worst incidents he knew of was a father who bashed a referee at a junior match in Auckland after his son's team lost. The man was banned indefinitely. Mr Cordtz believed he had had nothing to do with the game since.

He said the NZRL worked hard to educate coaches and referees.

Many clubs also issued their players with a code of conduct which parents were able to read and expected to follow themselves.

"But at the end of the day you have to rely on some personal responsibility."

New Zealand Football chairman Frank Van Hattum said a sideline ban was an "overreaction".

He said serious off-the-field incidents were rare but abuse towards the referee, players and other parents was a part of the game NZF was trying to stamp out.

Auckland Rugby club liaison officer John Gillies said rugby, like league, had volunteer event managers to marshall the sidelines and remind supporters of their obligations.

"Unfortunately they cop a bit of abuse too."

Counties Manukau referee Kevin Drew says a blanket ban on abusive parents at sports games will never work.

"It does seem a pretty extreme measure," he said. "If you ban the parents how are the kids going to get to the games?"

Mr Drew, a 15-year refereeing veteran who oversees games from junior grades to senior reserve, was punched by a coach five years ago.

The coach was charged with assault and later banned for life.

Mr Drew said rope boundaries forcing spectators back from the sidelines had also helped.

Mr Gillies said: "It's something we have to be vigilant about ... it could be parents trying to live their failed sports careers through their kids, I don't know."

He said bans varying in length had been handed out to abusive parents through disciplinary meetings.

"Ideally we want to see parents and supporters bring words of encouragement to the games.

"We don't like people abusing each other or the official. He's just a volunteer who loves the game like everyone else."