A STATE government effort to force bogan, bullying parents and spectators from the sidelines of sporting events has provoked a backlash from community sporting associations.
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As part of the campaign against ugly off-field behaviour, 16,000 clubs will receive educational kits featuring the DVD titled Stamp Out Ugly Behaviour or Your Game is History.
Every club and sporting code has been warned they could lose millions of dollars in government funding unless they agree by July 1 to back a new code that tightens rules and penalties.
In one graphic football scene on the DVD, a young goal umpire is abused and called ''a bloody poofter''.
A young netballer is labelled ''pathetic'' and an ''idiot'' and is told she ''is dragging the whole bloody team down''.
Soccer and junior basketball matches are also shown in an unflattering light, with one clip showing two fathers fighting.
AFL Victoria chief executive Peter Schwab, ultimately responsible for all community football competitions in the state, said he was unhappy with the DVD and had complained to Sports Minister James Merlino.
''There was just a philosophical disagreement in regards to how the minister wished to go hard on that behaviour,'' he said. ''I just made a point that I thought the better slogan was the one we already sort of had in place, which was, 'Encourage the Kids to Support the Game'.''
Mr Merlino last night said the DVD raised awareness of the new code and ''the minority of players, coaches, officials and spectators who do the wrong thing''.
The advertising group that produced the DVD, Grey Group, also defended its contents. Its chairman, Paul Gardner, a former Melbourne Football Club president, said: ''The whole thing is, if there is an issue in society, let's bring it to the attention of society. We can all gloss over [ugly behaviour] and say there's nothing wrong or we can say, 'There is something wrong, let's go to it and sort it out'.''