Triple M, Marty Sheargold's Matildas comments breached decency rules, regulator finds

Radio station Triple M breached decency rules by broadcasting offensive comments made by former presenter Marty Sheargold about the Matildas and women's sport, according to an investigation report from the industry regulator.

Sheargold and Triple M "mutually agreed to part ways" in February after the comedian said he "would rather hammer a nail through the head of [his] penis" than watch the Matildas play in next year's Asian Cup, while discussing the national women's football team.

The presenter also said that the Matildas reminded him of year 10 girls.

After the audio of the segment flooded social media pages, Triple M and Sheargold were forced to apologise for the comments.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) said on Thursday that an investigation into the incident found Triple M had breached the Commercial Radio Code of Practice by "allowing derogatory language and sexist themes to be broadcast".

Carolyn Lidgerwood, an ACMA member, said Sheargold's comments "don't belong in Australian broadcasting".

About 100 people contacted ACMA in February to complain about Sheargold's on-air comments, according to the regulator.

Sheargold's comments were made alongside his Triple M co-hosts Troy Ellis and Will Ralston during a news bulletin about the Matildas' defeats in the SheBelieves Cup.

When discussing that tournament, Sheargold said: "She believes in what? It better be men."

"The ACMA finds that these comments were overtly sexist and conveyed to the ordinary reasonable listener that women's sport is inferior in comparison to men's sport," the ACMA report said.

"Combined with the high levels of community respect for the Matildas and their role in promoting women's soccer and sport, the discussion overall was unacceptable and breached generally acceptable standard of decency," it added.

The segment sparked a backlash against Sheargold and Triple M, including from Football Australia, which said the remarks "not only diminish the extraordinary achievements and contributions of our women's national football team, but also fail to recognise the profound impact they have had on Australian sport and society".

After its earlier apology, Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) — the media company that owns and operates Triple M — responded to the complaints made to ACMA by acknowledging the remarks "were not ideal listening and did not align with SCA's company values". However, it said they did not believe they were offensive.

"Nothing in those comments was, in our view, offensive to generally acceptable standards of decency for a Triple M Listener," SCA said, according to the ACMA investigation report.

"When sports teams perform badly (and it is arguable the Matildas are not playing at their best], there are harsh comments made from time to time.

"Off-field behaviour is discussed (and often relevant to entertainment shows) and opinions given with respect to antics both on and off the field. Some opinions are unpopular and controversial.

"This is not uncommon on many radio stations throughout Australia, Triple M included. Making disdainful comments about the behaviour of the Matildas (and was done in the Comments) is not indecent."

On February 26, two days after the comments were made, Sheargold was absent from the Triple M program where his comments were first broadcast and SCA ultimately made the decision to remove the show from the station's line-up.

The comments quickly drew harsh criticism from members of the Matildas squad, former interim coach Tom Sermanni and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

"They were just shocking comments. That anyone could think it, let alone say it," Mr Albanese said during an interview on Melbourne's Nova radio.

The ACMA says it is now considering potential "enforcement action" against Southern Cross Austereo, but has yet to detail which potential penalties could be handed down.

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