The Sydney Roosters will become the first NRL team to turn away unvaccinated fans from live games next season, however, the NSW chairman of venues has implied all NRL clubs will have to do the same.
Roosters chairman, Nick Politis, told the Daily Telegraph yesterday that all fans attending live games will need to be vaccinated.
“We want members and fans to feel safe about coming to the football and knowing the people they are sitting next to have been fully vaccinated,” Politis said.
“It might upset a minority of supporters but it’s the only way forward.
“We think all NRL clubs need to take a responsible stand on this like they are doing overseas,” Politis said.
However, the decision may be taken out of the clubs hands with the Prime Minister stating it should be up to state governments to align with public health order in having the final say.
“If venues and things like this want to do that, my advice is then they will need the backing of state public health orders to achieve that, to make those sorts of things mandatory,” Mr Morrison said.
Venues NSW chairman, Tony Shepherd, added that once everyone has had a chance to be vaccinated, restrictions would be applied to stadiums.
“However, it’s then a case of, if you can’t be vaccinated, you can’t come,” he said.
“If you choose not to have the jab that is your civil right in a free country, but the Delta strain is extremely transmissible and we need to do something to reopen our stadiums.
“It will be a tremendous incentive for people to get vaccinated,” Shepherd said.
Australian Rugby League Commission chairman, Peter V’landys, told the Herold that the NRL is confident the majority of players will have the vaccine by next year, although insisting that the process is going to be about encouragement, and not “a big stick that divides people.”
“Our view is that 97% to 98% are going to do it voluntarily,” V’landys said.
“Once we send the information to players they’ll understand they’re more at risk of being hit by a car going to get the vaccine than something actually happening from receiving the vaccine,” he said.
Recently, several NFL teams have spoken out about requiring fans to be vaccinated before attending games, in addition to teams from Baseball, Ice Hockey, and Football sporting codes.
Now while the ‘Vaccine Passport’ has been made a reality for Sydney Roosters fans, the rest of the NRL wait for the fate of matchday attendance to be decided.