Huntly Women's team fined after abandoning match over 'body shaming' taunt

Huntly Football Club say they are “aggrieved” after being fined for their women’s team abandoning a game over an alleged “body shaming” comment from a rival player.

The Scottish Women’s Football League club were taking on Rossvale earlier this month when the reported incident took place.

One of the Huntly players was said to have been left “very upset” and described as “inconsolable” when the side arrived back in the dressing room for half-time.

As a result the squad collectively decided that they wouldn’t go back out for the second-half and an official complaint was made to the SWFL.

The governing body said the incident is being investigated and will “receive the attention it deserves”.

However, as a result of forfeiting the game, Huntly have been fined £100 by the League Management Committee and Rossvale were awarded the win.

On Thursday, chairman Gordon Carter said they will appeal the fine and that the Club feels “aggrieved” that the decision was made before the investigation was concluded.

A statement released on the club’s social media pages said: “The victim of the abuse and her teammates are being punished here for taking a collective decision to make a stand against such unacceptable abuse.

“As a club we stand proudly by their strength of character to take such a decision in the absence at that point in the game of any punishment being administered to the perpetrator of the abuse.

“There is no room for body shaming or indeed any form of discrimination in football and we will continue to advocate for respect and inclusivity in our sport.

“As a club we offer our full support to the player subjected to the abuse and the entire team during this very difficult and challenging time.”

A spokesperson for Scottish Women’s Football said: “Unfortunately, Scottish Women’s Football can often receive complaints about allegations of abusive language being made at games across the county, including a recent report from Huntly. All of these are investigated by SWF and receive the attention they deserve.

“Our codes of conduct are clear that players and officials must respect the referee and their opponents, including not using abusive language, of which body shaming is included.

“The decision to not fulfil the fixture also impacted competition rules which the League Management Committee made a decision on, and which Huntly have a right to appeal.”