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Melbourne Band Cancels Splendour Gig After Sexual Assault Allegations

A member of 'The Football Club' has been accused of abuse.
The Football Club
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The Football Club

Melbourne band 'The Football Club' has cancelled all its upcoming gigs, including a high-profile appearance at the Splendour In The Grass festival, in the wake of sexual assault allegations being levelled against after one of its members.

The folk-punk band was recently selected by Triple J to appear on the Byron Bay festival next month. However, in the wake of the announcement, several people levelled allegations of sexual assault against one of the band members on Facebook, which soon went viral online.

The Football Club, tipped as a 'next big thing' in Australian music, receive regular Triple J airplay, including their latest single 'Ivy', with lyrics in which the band's vocalist discusses being a rape victim. On Friday, The Football Club responded publicly to the claims, calling the allegations "untrue and defamatory".

"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 said.

"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."

However, just hours later on Friday, it was announced that the band would withdraw from their current tour with Adelaide band The Hard Aches.

On Monday morning, both the band and Triple J Unearthed issued a further update announcing The Football Club would not be appearing 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," the band wrote on Facebook.

"I strongly deny these allegations, and will be dealing with them through the appropriate channels."

Triple J Unearthed had received numerous comments and messages over the weekend about the band, as news of the claims spread, and had been accused of censoring comments on the issue. However, the page said certain comments had to be censored due to legal considerations, and said The Football Club's decision was "the right course of action".

Sydney band Philadelphia Grand Jury, who The Football Club were scheduled to play alongside this week, have also commented on the band's decision.

Triple J urged anyone affected by these issues to contact Lifeline, Beyond Blue: Qlife and Minus18.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. For more information about a service in your state or local area download the DAISY App in the App Store or Google Play.

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