‘Full confidence’: Sports minister backs SIA probe into De Vanna claims

Federal sports minister Richard Colbeck has declared his “full confidence” in Sport Integrity Australia’s probe into allegations of misconduct in women’s football, which could be up and running and accepting submissions as early as this week.

It comes as Lisa De Vanna’s former teammates brace themselves for a media firestorm as they begin arriving in Sydney on Monday, ahead of the Matildas’ first match on Australian soil in almost two years.

Retired Matildas great Lisa De Vanna dropped a bombshell on football a fortnight ago.Credit:Getty

De Vanna, who last played for Australia at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, claimed she had been sexually harassed, bullied and ostracised during her 20-year career in an interview with News Corp a fortnight ago.

Football Australia swiftly responded by engaging SIA – the new-look government sporting agency which was launched last year – to handle any such complaints independently of the federation.

There have since been calls for a broader inquiry into women’s football in Australia, with De Vanna’s actions prompting other ex-players to come forward and allege there are deep-rooted cultural problems at all levels of the women’s game.

But the Herald and The Age can reveal SIA will have the freedom and latitude to open up their own investigations, rather than being restricted to exploring only the complaints that come to them – giving the agency a much broader remit than many had anticipated.

SIA will also be able to examine matters involving men’s football – not just the women’s game – which Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said was a first for the sport in this country.

The scope of SIA’s investigation will encompass four different areas: harassment, bullying, intimidation and discrimination.

“There could be a man, for example, who’s had this experience. Anything that so much as even smells like inappropriate behaviour, this will be handed over to Sport Integrity Australia,” Johnson told the Herald and The Age.

Football Australia chief executive James Johnson.Credit:AFR

“We’ll be providing everything we have, that we know of, or we’re currently investigating to SIA, so it’s done at arm’s length.

“It will be independent. It will not be FA doing this. Our role will be to receive reports and then to enforce decisions through our statutes. [SIA] can open up their own investigations into those areas. It’s not just a complaints handling mechanism.

“The objective is, on one hand, to invite as many people to come forward as possible through this process, so we can call out and change bad behaviours which helps us change culture within the sport – and on the other hand, if there are people who have acted inappropriately in the sport, that there are sanctions imposed on those people.”

Johnson said he expects the SIA process to be set up and functioning in the coming days.

“I said it in my first interview [as FA CEO]: I’m not here to manage the sport, I’m here to change it,” he said. “We’ve had 100 years of history in our game and this has never been tackled. Here is our opportunity to confront this issue head-on and try to tackle it through a process which we’ve never had before.”

Colbeck, who set up SIA last year after merging ASADA with the various integrity operations of Sport Australia and the department of health, said he was satisfied with FA’s response to De Vanna’s allegations.

“The allegations levelled at Football Australia are being investigated with the assistance of Sport Integrity Australia,” he said. “The establishment of Sport Integrity Australia has proved a vital mechanism to protect the integrity, safety and welfare of athletes at all levels. I have full confidence in this process.”

De Vanna criticised Johnson in a column for News Corp outlets on Sunday, saying he and the Matildas had left her feeling “rejected [and] abandoned” after the team released a statement last week which defended their current culture as safe and inclusive.

While the statement expressed empathy for De Vanna and endorsed any investigation into her claims of historical abuse, the Matildas were roundly criticised for not showing enough solidarity towards the 36-year-old, who recently retired after missing selection for the Tokyo Olympics.

Players are likely to face questioning this week on De Vanna’s allegations and the overall culture of the women’s game as they prepare for the first of two friendlies against Brazil on Saturday night at CommBank Stadium – their first at home since the onset of the pandemic.

However, they will be unable to mix with fans, friends or family while in Sydney due to strict protocols which have enabled them to bypass hotel quarantine and train and play in a bio-secure bubble.

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