THE great Liverpool legend Bill Shankly once said that “football is not a matter of life or death, it’s more important than that!”. Well, even the legendary Mr Shankly would no doubt agree that in a lot of cases, even his own legendary observation is somewhat of an embellishment. Especially in situations involving a tragedy or – in the following (local) instance – a good cause.

Last weekend, a very admirable case of great sportsmanship was enhanced by admirable humanity during a GRFC Under 15 junior fixture between the Elcho Park Cardinals and Surf Coast FC.

North Geelong Warriors Technical Director Josip Zilic, whose son Karl plays for the Cardinals Under 15 team, was evidently touched by a post match incident at the Banyul Warri Reserve, which highlighted all that is good with the local football community

“A sincere thank you and respect to the Surf Coast Football Club,” explained Zilic.

“As there was no referee appointed for the game and being the home side, Surf Coast's Sam Nicholas bravely stepped up (in very trying conditions) and officiated the game. After the match instead of accepting the match fee payment, to which he would have been entitled to, both clubs instead donated the fee to my Dry July campaign.

“We all have someone in our lives either directly or not far from direct that has been affected by cancer. My own mum battled with melanoma. She is my inspiration to sacrifice a little to achieve a lot,” said Zilic, revealing how he lost his mother Sofija in 2011 to cancer.

“To everyone involved from both the Cardinals and Surf Coast, many, many thanks for your kind donation to a terrific cause. You gotta love the football family,” said Zilic, adding that an amount of $45 was donated from last Sunday’s game.

Supporting Barwon Health's Andrew Love Cancer Centre at University Geelong Hospital, the funds raised from Zilic’s Dry July campaign will aim to help improve patient care and the provision of quality cancer services for the people of Geelong and the Western District.

If you are in a position to support those who need help whilst battling cancer, you can do so by donating to Joe Zilic’s Dry July fundraising campaign, via the following link.

https://au.dryjuly.com/profile/josipzilic

Photo: Joe Zilic is pictured, kneeling at the front. The photo was taken during a recent NPL Community Program he implemented with the Warriors’ SAP (Skill Acquisition Program) squad at Barwon Heads Soccer Club.