AFL: HIV footballer set to resume playing

AAP General News (Australia)
04-23-1999
AFL: HIV footballer set to resume playing

By Rob Grant

MELBOURNE, April 23 AAP - HIV positive footballer Matthew Hall has been cleared to
continue playing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) following a landmark
decision today in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Hall, diagnosed as HIV positive in 1996, won his appeal to allow him to play with his club
Old Ivanhoe Grammarians.

The VAFA had refused to register him in July last year, claiming his HIV status was a risk
to his teammates.

But in today's decision, Tribunal president Justice Murray Kellum said the risk of
transmission of the infection to another player was "very low."

"There is no established case of the transfer of HIV from one player to another in any code
of football in the world, be it soccer, rugby, gridiron or Australian Rules," the Tribunal
said.

Hall said outside the Tribunal he was "very happy" with the decision and wanted to resume
playing football as soon as possible.

He said he had continued training while his appeal process was underway but may have to
fight his way back into the side - not because of his infection, but the form of the team.

"The Club is playing very well at the moment and there are no vacancies," Hall said.

"They've got an excess of players not getting a game already."

Based on statistics that two males in every thousand between the ages of 15-35 have HIV,
the Tribunal said it was possible 20 members of the VAFA out of 10,000 were HIV positive.

AFL Players' Association president Andrew Demetriou welcomed the tribunal's decision to let
Hall resume playing.

"We think it's a commonsense decision," he said.

And the AFL said it would have allowed Hall to play.

The league's media relations manager Patrick Keane said the AFL had a very strict
blood-borne infectious diseases policy.

"Players must immediately leave the field of play (if they are bleeding) and all those who
deal with the players must wear gloves etc.

"With all these things in place we have very strict measures to deal with players who have
these problems," Keane said.

AAP rg/mh/it

KEYWORD: AFL HIV (CARRIED EARLIER)

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