A Sydney woman accused of making anti-Semitic remarks at a junior netball game over the weekend has taken leave from her childcare job, with her lawyer saying the move was in “everybody’s best interest”.

A Sydney woman accused of making anti-Semitic remarks at a junior netball game over the weekend has taken leave from her childcare job, with her lawyer saying the move was in “everybody’s best interest”.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that childcare worker Jody Scarcella, who allegedly made a comment saying “f**king Jews”, while watching a children’s game between Maccabi and Saints at Heffron Park Netball Centre in Sydney’s east on Saturday, is on leave while criminal proceedings are underway.

Footage showed the 42-year-old being confronted by parents after the incident, including Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin, who was seen in the video posted to Instagram asking, “Did you actually say what’s been alleged?”

NSW Police were called and began investigating before charging Mrs Scarcella with one count of using offensive language.

Jody Scarcella, who was charged by police over an alleged anti-Semitic comment, has been forced to take leave from work.

Mrs Scarcella’s solicitor, Paul McGirr, said his client plans to fight the charge when she faces court for the first time next month.

Mr McGirr said his client had taken leave from work, which was in the “everybody’s best interest” to ensure her employer did not receive “unwanted attention” while awaiting court proceedings.

“She has absolutely no problem with the Jewish community whatsoever,” he said.

Australian Jewish Association (AJA) chief executive Robert Gregory welcomed the decision of Mrs Scarcella being on leave, saying the alleged comments had caused “significant concern” within the Jewish community.

Meanwhile, it can also be revealed that Mrs Scarcella still holds active accreditation to work as an early childhood educator in NSW, which means she is still legally allowed to teach while criminal proceedings are underway.

Alex Ryvchin confronted the woman who has been charged after alleged antisemitic remarks during a junior netball match in Sydney’s east. Picture: Facebook

A NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) spokeswoman said: “NESA has strict processes to suspend or revoke a teacher’s accreditation if it receives a misconduct notification from an employer or another agency, or if a teacher is charged with or convicted of a relevant criminal offence.”

“NESA can also suspend, revoke, or impose conditions on a teacher’s accreditation upon receiving a notification relating to misconduct from another agency, including the Office of the Children’s Guardian or NSW Police,” the spokeswoman said.

On Monday, Netball Australia chief executive Mark Falvo said the sport was “a special part of the fabric of so many communities in Australia” and that they had “provisionally suspended” the woman from attending games.