Football Politics

A PATHETIC TELEVISION STATION: CHANNEL SEVEN

Channel Seven should be boycotted by both viewers and advertisers who spend money with this anti-democratic, authoritarian station.

The spiteful and childish atttitude of Seven towards the West Perth Football Club beggars belief.

West Perth has two major sponsors –Channel Nine and The Sunday Times- and like a petulant brat that cannot get its own way Seven expects the small Nine logos to be removed from the guernseys.

If not Seven will refuse to telecast any West Perth games during the year. What a bunch of pathetic bullies and spoiled brats.

WPFC president Brett Raponi deserves support of all the football fraternity, as indeed any WAFL club in the same situation would, in holding firm and supporting a sponsor (Nine).

Raponi is acting ethically when he says that his club is committed to honouring its contract with Nine. That station has negotiated a sponsorship deal with West Perth and has every right to expect a small logo to be on the famous red and blue Guernsey.

How far does this nonsense go? Will The West Australian newspaper refuse to show photos of West Perth players because they have The Sunday Times logo on their club guernseys too?

What will happen if West Perth make the Grand Final? No telecast, Seven? That should go over like a lead zeppelin with all the footy viewers?

Let’s get it straight, West Perth is in the right here and the gutless WA Football Commission should support a constituent member instead of playing the role of Vidkun Quisling and selling West Perth out to appease the  aggressor, Seven.

The WA Football Commission may expect West Perth to default on their sponsor but no other half decent person does.

The cowardice of the Commission was fully evident last week when it refused to allow other TV stations (ABC ,Nine, Ten) to interview Docker players, representing Peel Thunder,  in that club’s losing game against West Perth.

The WAFC and Seven should realise that the mood at West Perth resembles  Margaret Thatcher’s at The Conservative Party Conference of 10^th October 1980. There, the British PM defiantly said “this lady is not for turning,” in a speech on economic reforms.

 Similarly, West Perth is not for turning and club sources indicate a desire to increase the three year sponsorship, with Nine, by another two years.

 ABC commentator Trevor Jenkins, a former racing and football caller, posed the question, “Who is right and who is wrong here?”

Trev, here is the answer of the bleeding obvious:  it is no race because the football club you have supported since your boyhood days, of long ago, is absolutely in the right -100%.

Further, West Perth has the support of all people who are democrats and believe in the freedom of the market.

The WAFC and Seven are totally out of line and it is time they pulled their heads in.