Osborne Park Football Club: Costume scandal leaves club homeless after City of Stirling cancels club’s licence

A football club in Perth’s northern suburbs has been shut down after a player reportedly dressed as late physicist Stephen Hawking during end-of-season celebrations. The City of Stirling described the act as “completely unacceptable” after one of their employees discovered the player’s outfit during a property inspection of the Osborne Park Football Club clubrooms on August 21. A spokesman for the City said “because of the inappropriate nature of the items, the City secured the premises and contacted WA Police.” “The City has since terminated the club’s licence on grounds of unreasonable licensee conduct, as specified in the club’s licence agreement,” the spokesman said. “The City added this unreasonable licensee conduct clause to the licence agreement in April 2023 after repeated difficulties dealing with club leadership. “Terminating a licence is not a course of action the City takes lightly, but the conduct in question was not only unreasonable — it was completely unacceptable.” The West Australian has been told the costume involved Stephen Hawking, who used a wheelchair after being diagnosed with motor neuron disease as a graduate aged 22. The City of Stirling and the Osborne Park Football Club refused to speak about the details of the costume. The reason police were called has not been made public, but it is believed to relate to allegations of offensive material. The West Australian is not suggesting the player has committed an offence, only that police were reportedly alerted to the scandal. WA Police have been approached for comment. Newly-appointed Osborne Park Football Club president Jeremy LaBianca posted to Facebook on Tuesday saying they were cooperating with the Perth Football League and the City of Stirling after the incident. Mr LaBianca said the player wore the “distasteful and unacceptable costume” during the club’s Silly Sunday celebrations. “As a club, we are really embarrassed that we allowed this to happen and that we didn’t intervene on the day. Let me be absolutely clear — this behaviour does not reflect the values or culture we stand for at Osborne Park, and we unreservedly apologise for the offence caused,” he said. “Since becoming aware of the incident, the club has taken immediate and comprehensive steps to cooperate fully with both the Perth Football League and the City of Stirling. He said the City of Stirling “have refused” to engage with the club and had since forced them to “vacate our lease without explanation” — putting the club’s future in question. The City of Stirling refutes Mr LaBianca’s claim, stating the City had “explained in writing the basis for the licence termination”. A spokesperson for the Perth Football League (PFL) said it had issued the club with a show cause notice, meaning it would need to produce written evidence about the event by the end of October. The PFL will then determine if any disciplinary action is required. “The PFL is aware that the City of Stirling has permanently ended the club’s licence to use both the clubrooms and Robinson Reserve on the basis that the club has breached the terms of their agreement,” the spokesperson said. “The PFL expects all players, officials and participants to uphold high standards of behaviour on and off the field that are appropriate to expectations of the important role that football plays within our community.” Mr LaBianca said the future of the club, who are based in Tuart Hill, remained uncertain as they await a decision in early November by the Perth Football League. “While we acknowledge the seriousness of the situation, we firmly believe that the proposed consequence of shutting down an entire community club — with many years of history and deep roots in our local area — is grossly disproportionate,” he said.