UPDATE 2: The Football Club band member Leah Romero has made the following statement regarding her decision to leave the band.
“In light of the recent allegations I have decided to no longer continue with The Football Club.
“These allegations are incredibly serious and though have been vehemently denied, I will still be departing from the band. I believe that Ruby and everyone involved need to focus on resolving this situation through the appropriate channels, and that the band comes completely secondary to this.
“I will be donating 100% of my part of royalties and earnings from the band to The Royal Womens Hospital Centre Against Sexual Assault (CASA House), who give support to victims of sexual assault.”
UPDATE 1: Ruby from The Football Club has made the following statement announcing the band will no longer be playing at Splendour.
“In light of recent events, for the time being, all future Football Club plans are put on hold. We won’t be performing at Splendour in the Grass. We were absolutely thrilled to be invited and would like to thank Splendour, and Triple J Unearthed for the opportunity.
“I strongly deny these allegations, and will be dealing with them through the appropriate channels.”
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triple j Unearthed have spoken out regarding recent sexual assault allegations leveled against one of the bands who last week won the chance to perform at this year’s Splendour in the Grass festival through a competition run by the online/digital radio station.
The accusations regard a member of Melbourne outfit The Football Club, and appeared in Facebook posts made by several people following the June 15 announcement of the competition winners.
As the posts were quickly shared across the platform, there were calls from some for the band to be removed from the festival lineup, and triple j Unearthed took to Facebook to respond, following the removal of certain posts and comments from their own Facebook page.
“Hey Unearthed,” their post begins. “There’s been talk of us removing posts relating to our winning Splendour band. We can’t display any posts or comments that are potentially defamatory.
“We’re aware of the issue, and understand the band have made a statement and are engaging privately with the people involved,” the post concludes, before adding, “They are still our comp winners, and will be on the Splendour lineup.”
The station refers to a statement made by The Football Club on their own Facebook page fiercely denying the allegations, and labeling the posts “defamatory” and “without any foundation”.
“Over the past 24 hours, certain parties have published untrue and defamatory statements relating to the conduct of members of The Football Club,” the band’s statement begins.
“These statements are without any foundation, designed to cause harm to the reputation of The Football Club and its members, and The Football Club absolutely deny them. As a victim of sexual assault, Ruby and the band find these claims horrifying in nature, and completely untrue in content.
“The band has worked tirelessly to be a voice for the LGBTQI community and for victims of sexual assault, and feel that these statements are an unjustified and unfair attempt to undermine their positive work.
“We’re pursuing these matters through official channels currently. We urge anyone who is the victim of assault to seek support and advice through the appropriate channels,” the band concluded, directing people towards the Sexual Assault Support Service (SASS).
While triple j Unearthed has made it clear that the band and its members will remain on the Splendour in the Grass lineup, Adelaide outfit The Hard Aches announced they were making the decision to remove The Football Club from the four remaining shows on their national tour.
“In light of recent events, The Football Club will not be performing at tonight’s show at Adelaide Unibar or at any of the remaining shows,” The Hard Aches told their fans.
“We as a band feel very strongly about issues surrounding domestic violence, abuse and sexual assault, and until these issues are resolved we feel this is the best course of action,” they concluded, also pointing towards several support lines.
Both The Hard Aches and The Football Club are managed by the Melbourne-based company Six String Sounds, and we have reached out to management for comment, along with Splendour in the Grass.
We have not received official comment from either at the time of publication, but will update the story with any additional information.
