An Australian Matildas soccer player has been forced to remove sexually suggestive photos from her Facebook profile after a 13-year-old fan found them while looking up her sporting hero online.
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Football Federation Australia yesterday ordered Olympian Lisa De Vanna to hide the images after a complaint from the young girl's mother.
The Facebook images, which could be viewed by the public, showed 25-year-old De Vanna in a series of lewd poses.
Friends of the player posted profane comments on one of the photos, which showed friends of the soccer star posing jokingly with a large blow-up penis.
The girl's mother, Jane, told The Age she was "distraught" after viewing the images.
"I wouldn't want my daughter to follow the Matildas and Lisa after seeing these images. These girls aren't role models at all they are an embarrassment to themselves and their sport," Jane said.
"As a parent, I'm distraught that these are images of athletes my daughter aspires to be like and looks up to."
The FFA confirmed it had demanded De Vanna, who has represented Australia in 65 matches, remove the images. They are no longer available for public viewing.
Jane, who did not want her surname to be used, received an apology from the head of women's football at the FFA late last night.
However, she said she was concerned about the obscene comments that accompanied the images.
Jane said she was "very disappointed" at De Vanna's decision to publish the images and it had "changed (her) entire outlook of the Matildas as a whole".
She said she was "bitter" the FFA had not responded to her before apparently issuing instructions to the player.
"If the Matildas are trying to sell themselves as a brand and image, these are probably not images that will help their image," she said.
A spokesman for the FFA said the organisation "sets high standards for its players and is aware that they are looked at as role models by many in the community".
But in an email response late last night, the head of women's football, Leeanne Grantham, wrote to Jane explaining the action taken by the FFA.
Ms Grantham apologised and said she would "highlight the risks to (the players) personally, to the sport and to the Matildas brand."
"When Lisa returns from the US, I will be meeting with her and addressing this matter with her face-to-face," she wrote.
Perth-born De Vanna, who currently plays in the US for the Washington Freedom, represented Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2007 and 2010 FIFA Women's World Cups. She was named in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup All Star team.
Her FFA profile describes her as "one of the most electrifying strikers in women's world football".
