Transparency, Or The Lack Thereof

Back after the first week of the NPLV season, the contributor known as Kiss of Death on the South of the Border blog uncovered the fact that Trent Rixon should have served a suspension in the opening round. In light of the revelation in the post from March 17 it is interesting to see how the matter was handled.

If Northcote City did indeed seek clarification of his status from the FFV prior to fielding him in the game against Melbourne Knights and were told he was eligible to play, it is fair enough no action was taken against them. However it should be incumbent of the FFV to be transparent and explain what occurred. Given the player was not on the team sheet the following round, can we assume it was because he was serving the suspension that week?

An explanation should have been given, it is hard to trust an organisation that sweeps things under the carpet.

Speaking of trust, we can't trust people not to cheat in junior football. Every child must have an ID card (with photo) in the hands of the match official before they can take the field. It is strictly NO CARD, NO PLAY.

In the high stakes NPLV, however, the FFV is yet to share with the public the Player Points System information of the competing clubs. A transparent body would provide a list of each the players registered for each club and their individual points values so everyone could see how clubs stood.

We have players clearly listed on FFV documentation as being suspended playing without any apparent sanction. We have a new PPS which we can't check is being fully adhered to. Then we have kids being treated like criminals if their parents/club haven't been up to date with their paperwork. Seems to be the wrong way around to me.

I'd rather let the kids play and be more stringent on the supposed professionals and elite.