Football association launches code of conduct for parents of youth players
Flemish amateur football association Voetbal Vlaanderen has launched a new code of conduct for parents of youth players, to remind them of their duties as responsible supporters.
Last season, the association's disciplinary committee dealt with 7,181 cases of verbal or physical aggression during matches, an increase of about 5 per cent from the previous season.
This is "a regrettable evolution that Voetbal Vlaanderen wants to halt", said Philippe Rosier, general director of the association. "The rising number of reports can be attributed to the growing awareness of our hotline.
"It is by no means only victims of aggression who report incidents. Increasingly, witnesses are reporting problems. But those incidents must go down from this season. The doubling of penalties from last season will help with that, but also our fair play ranking and the new code of conduct for football parents."
"Their encouragement starts from good intentions but sometimes backfires"
Last season, Voetbal Vlaanderen introduced the fair play ranking in the youth series, where opponents could give each other a score. According to the association, this increased fair play among youth players. In the first half of the season, six out of 10 teams achieved a fair play score of more than 90 per cent, which rose to seven in 10 by the end of the season.
The association now wants to create a similar effect among parents. "They have a key role in bringing down the number of incidents,” Rosier said. “Their encouragement starts from good intentions but sometimes backfires. The charter recalls the five elements of being a warm football mum and dad: supporting is all about positive encouragement, not pressurising children and letting them make mistakes, letting trainers and referees do their job and, above all, letting children enjoy the game of football."
The charter also states that inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated. Verbal and physical aggression can lead to sanctions, such as fines, and may lead to legal consequences in the case of serious offences.
#FlandersNewsService | Illustration © BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS
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