United Patriots Front evicted from West Coast vs Fremantle game for anti-mosque banner
Updated
Four people have been evicted from the Western derby AFL match in Perth after displaying an anti-Muslim banner during Saturday night's game at Subiaco Oval.
The spectators unfurled the "stop the mosques" banner and displayed it for a short time, before they were removed from the ground and handed over to police.
A spokesman for the WA Football Commission confirmed the incident and said moves were underway to have the offenders banned from the ground.
Last week, AFL boss Gillon McLachlan said he would not tolerate the game being used to vilify sections of the community after an anti-Muslim banner was unfurled during the Friday night match between Richmond and Collingwood at the MCG.
After that incident a number of players, including West Coast's Nic Naitanui took to Twitter to condemned the banner.
Following the latest incident, AFL spokesman Patrick Keane reiterated the league's stance in a tweet saying the anti-Islamic views did not in any way represent the game in any way.
The United Patriots Front used Facebook to confirm the group's involvement.
A spokesman said in a video post the group's members were "mobbed" by spectators and one was arrested after trying to stop another person taking the banner out of his hands.
He said the member was hand-cuffed, but later issued a move-on notice and released.
The banner was confiscated.
Topics: australian-football-league, race-relations, community-and-society, religion-and-beliefs, islam, perth-6000
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