Administrators from the Penrith District Junior Rugby League (PDJRL) have issued a statement claiming that they can, and potentially will, cancel local games should 'gang' related violence continue to run rampant at venues under their jurisdiction.
Within a statement released by Junior Manager, Justin Mairleitner, the governing body claimed that the New South Wales Police force would be "cancelling matches across the state from this weekend where intelligence suggests everyone's safety is compromised."
The protective threat comes in the wake of reports from The Sydney Morning Herald that several recent fixtures within the western Sydney region had become a battleground for organised, off-field violence.
Mairleitner stated that the association had been acting on intelligence provided by Detective Chief Inspector Darren Newman, with Nine Fairfax's Adrien Proszenko reporting that information collated suggested that players and supporters had descended on competition fixtures whilst armed.
PDJRL have issued a statement to all clubs in regards to games potentially being cancelled from this weekend on as they work with NSWPF to stamp out Gang violence within the game.
👀👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/cVuxhXRORh— Pikey (@pikey14) May 11, 2022
“Detective Chief Inspector Newman from our locale and crime managers across western Sydney are making general enquiries and will be contacting sporting clubs directly to identify players who are making threats and/or plans to instigate violence on our fields; this includes correspondence on players being joined in by spectators being armed with weapons," Mairleitner wrote.
“Most importantly, Detective Chief Inspector Newman wants clubs to understand when clubs know about conversations or group chats in and around playing groups they must report it to the PDJRL and police."
The Panthers' administrators also delineated that while the behaviour of players, coaches and spectators could see fixtures called off, as well as offenders being suspended or banned, clubs within the competition faced being removed should they be "involved in organising acts of violence on or off the field."