The AFL declined to comment.
The league said in a statement on Tuesday that it had been made aware of the comments on Powerโs social media account.
โThe RDFNL had no prior knowledge of these comments. Following a brief review, Andrew Power and the RDFNL mutually agreed that his personal views are not aligned with the values of the League, its Board, and staff,โ the statement said.
โAndrew has resigned from his position as Vice President effective immediately.
โWe thank him for his service over many seasons and wish him well for the future.
โThe RDFNL does not condone or support the behaviour reflected in those comments and apologises for any distress caused to members of our community.โ
Powerโs resignation follows a 12-month dispute between the Kyneton womenโs team and the RDFNL. The womenโs side defected from Kyenton Football Netball Club last year after claims over inequitable treatment and disrespectful conditions, and have been battling to find a new home.
In a separate incident, on December 21, Instagram media page Not All Clubs posted an alleged comment by RDFL President Brenton Knott in a private message to a supporter, later leaked to media, saying the situation was โnot about footy, itโs about grooming and gender weirdnessโ.
The league has since said the message was a โfalsified, photoshopped and doctored imageโ.
The comment was allegedly sent in response to a post discussing Kyentonโs application to join the Central Victorian Football League.
โYou need to look at the other side. They donโt deserve anything โ youโre advocating that any team thatโs not happy breaks away,โ said the alleged message, which has been seen by The Age.
โHow is that manageable by the AFL? If you look at the principals [sic] in this โ itโs not about footy, itโs about grooming and gender weirdness.
โYou follow local footy so you need to see AFL Vic and RDFNL arenโt the bad ones here.โ
On February 6, the RDFNL published a statement on their website and said Knottโs alleged comments were a โfalsified, photoshopped and doctored imageโ. The AFL Integrity Unit has not announced an outcome of the investigation; the AFL was contacted for comment.
โThe RDFNL and Brenton were not able to come out and deny these claims publicly during this time but can now confirm that these claims to be completely false and fake and both parties,โ the organisation said.
โBrenton and the RDFNL can now begin the legal process of proceeding with defamation cases against those parties responsible for publishing these doctored imagesโฆโ
On February 9, Kyneton representatives met with AFL executives to discuss alternative options for the team to play in a league after their application to join the CVL was blocked by the Riddell District Football Netball League โ an appeal which was upheld by AFL Victoria.
The womenโs team is waiting on an outcome.
MORE TO COME
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