Eliza Andersen says she is tired of the sexism and misogyny within the football community after being verbally abused at an Adelaide AFL match at the weekend.
Key points:
- A 25-year-old woman was verbally abused by an intoxicated man at a football match at Adelaide Oval on Saturday
- Security hugged the man and shook his hand, and was not removed
- Eliza Andersen says she may not return to an AFL match again
The 25-year-old Port Lincoln woman, a Carlton Football Club supporter, said that being a minority supporter at a Port Adelaide home game had not stopped her from attending before and she was looking forward to it.
“It was probably the first Carlton game we had in Adelaide in over two years, and it was Marc Murphy’s 300th and final game, so I was very excited to go,” Ms Andersen said.
“We had Carlton members’ tickets as I’ve been a member for my entire life. We had great seats in and amongst the Carlton cheer squad.”
But Ms Andersen said when she got to the allotted seats, she found three men already sitting there.
An usher checked their tickets, but then advised Ms Andersen not to bother the men and to find somewhere else.
“I felt really small in that situation, but it was OK … It’s football, you get what you get,” she said.
‘Disgusted and intimidated’
She said her new seats were right in front of an intoxicated man who was slurring his words, stumbling and hurling “unusual abuse” both to the players and to spectators.
Supplied: Eliza Andersen
)Ms Andersen was scared but her boyfriend’s presence made her feel a bit safer.
Her boyfriend asked the man to quieten down, but he continued his behaviour.
It was then Ms Andersen decided to say something herself.
“I said, ‘Could you please sit down and be quiet?'”
