Safety of players the spur

LISA De Vanna never planned to go public about the abuse she says she experienced during her long and decorated career with the Matildas.

De Vanna (pictured) was determined to speak up because she didn’t want other players – at any level of the game – to experience the same abuse and harassment she had but didn’t want to make it all about herself.

So she brought up her concerns about the culture within the sport privately with the game’s top officials, hoping they would act.

The first meeting took place on Zoom on July 29, 2020. The most recent just last month.

No one disputes that the two sides were in talks but both are at odds about what happened at their meetings.

FA released a statement confirming that several of the sport’s officials had met with De Vanna numerous times over the past year but say she never disclosed what she claims she knew.

“We have had several meetings with Lisa, the most recent in the past few weeks, FA chief executive James Johnson said.

“While it’s not appropriate to discuss the details of those meetings, they covered a range of topics including general matters relating to culture, but at no point were we made aware of the specific behaviours that have been alleged.”

An FA source said De Vanna was told that if she had concerns she should raise them through the proper channels, but chose not to.

But De Vanna’s closest advisers say FA’s version of events is wrong. They say her requests were ignored and agreed meetings were cancelled.