'I'll let you shag my wife' banner furore

The Australian Football League has called on Channel Ten to explain why it aired footage of a supporter's banner inviting Geelong Cats star Paul Chapman to have sex with his wife. The sign reading "Paul Chapman I'll let you shag my wife" was broadcast towards the end of last Saturday night's match between Geelong and the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium in Queensland.

The AFL this week demanded an explanation from Ten, which said the broadcast was "unintentional" and assured the league it would not happen again. Campaigners against domestic violence commended the league's response but demanded more from the Geelong Cats.



"I'm not prudish and I think people should be able to express themselves but that's just not on," White Ribbon ambassador Warwick Leeson said. "It's a complete putdown, it reduces women to being something a man owns. I can't imagine a sign at a women's function saying you can shag my husband."

Mr Leeson called on the Cats to track down the man who held up the sign and strip him of his membership. A friend of the man who was waving the banner said the phrase was a reference to a well-known unofficial Cats war-cry. The friend said the man waving the banner was not married and meant no harm by the sign, which was checked and cleared by gate staff before the match.