WA footy commission don’t appear to have rules for off-field allegations

The WA Football Commission and WA Country Football League do not appear to have any protocols to deal with players charged with criminal offences as a Rovers star charged with rape played his fourth game. Justin Crudeli was charged in July with sexual assault against another player at the club. His alleged victim plays in the women’s team, which plays on the same grounds. Under his bail conditions Mr Crudeli cannot go with 50 metres of the victim. There is no suggestion he has breached the bail conditions. Rovers initially suspended Mr Crudeli for two matches, but he returned to the pitch last month. Senior football sources say the Great Northern Football League’s bylaws and constitution didn’t allow it to take any action on such matters. Rovers also considered it a duty to look after the mental health of both players while the court case was pending. Club president Clive Edwards said when Mr Crudeli was suspended the “best policy was to stand him down and see what the outcome was”. The WAFC declined last week and this week to comment on whether it had such protocols in place, or whether it was considering any. In a statement on behalf of the commission, spokesperson Steve Tuohey said it couldn’t comment. “The WA Football Commission and WA Country Football League cannot comment or provide a position in response to any legal proceedings until they have been completed.” He said the commission also couldn’t make any general comment on the issue. A WAFC official contacted directly, declined to comment and referred queries to the media line. Mr Edwards said last week the club had been told by local police that officers would be present at the games for the rest of the season, after the alleged victim filed a complaint. According to people who were at the ground, no police presence was visible. People at the game said Mr Crudeli left the field without incident. Police would not confirm if they did tell the club they would send officers to the game or if they were there over the last two weekends. A former Country Football League board member said he hadn’t come across any cases where the league needed to deal with allegations of off-field incidents during his time on the board. Mr Crudeli kicked two goals Saturday as Rovers beat Brigades.