Victoria Police are investigating an incident that allegedly took place at Etihad Stadium, during the clash between the Western Bulldogs and the Brisbane Lions on Saturday. A supporter in the crowd was filmed by another supporter hurling abuse towards a Brisbane Lions trainer.
Bob Murphy, who played his 300th game on Saturday, was lining up for goal when a Lions' trainer ran through the mark, incurring a 50 metre penalty. The Bulldogs veteran was then able to score an easy goal from directly in front, angering the supporter who was recorded shouting "Go back to the f---ing Chinese takeaway, you d---head". It was reported that the supporter who recorded the man shouting the abuse at the trainer, wrote down the man's seat number and reported the incident after the game had concluded. It is alleged that the man had hurled abuse towards players during the entire game, but only the racial abuse incident was recorded. The supporter had not used the stadium's antisocial behaviour hotline when the incident occurred. AFL spokesman Patrick Keane spoke to AFL.com.au and said that the incident was being investigated by police. "Police have advised us that they are investigating the matter after a complaint was made to them," Keane said. "We would provide whatever assistance or information to assist their investigation that we're asked to, but obviously we would wait for them in that how they proceed will be a matter for police to determine. "We would repeat again that such behaviour is never welcome or condoned at our matches." This racial abuse incident comes only two weeks after Eddie Betts was targeted by a Port Adelaide supporter during the Adelaide Oval Showdown. Port Adelaide ruckman Paddy Ryder was also racially targeted by an Adelaide supporter.
0 Comments
The Giants' thrilling win over the Swans on Saturday night has ended on a disappointing note after Heath Shaw was allegedly picked up on an on-field microphone calling Sydney player, Tom Papley an "f---ing retard".
During the third quarter of the fiery clash at the SCG, Shaw was involved in a scuffle between Papley where he was placed in a headlock by his Sydney opponent. As Papley ran to the bench, Shaw's insult was broadcast, forcing Fox Footy commentator Jason Dunstall to apologise to viewers. GWS coach Leon Cameron said he wanted to find out more details about the incident before making a decision on whether the former Collingwood player should face a club ban. He stated that he had spoken with club officials on the matter and would speak publicly about it when ready. "We'll use the next 24 hours to have a really good discussion about actually what happened," Cameron said. "So it's hard for me to comment any further until I actually hear what happened. We'll have a discussion with the people involved and see where that leads." The incident has left many in the football community divided on the issue of whether footballers are allowed to use insults such as "retard" towards other players. Shaw's sledge has been described as insulting towards people with disabilities. Do you think Heath Shaw's comment was too far? Are people overreacting? Sound off in the comments. Former Macquarie Capital senior executive Robin Bishop has been named as the new AFL commissioner, as a proposal has been put forward to expand the AFLW to include more AFL teams.
St Kilda and Geelong have put forward strong proposals to have their own AFLW teams in 2018, but CEO Gillon McLachlan has stated that there are many factors to consider before expanding the inaugural league. The AFL Commission is expected to make a decision in a matter of weeks. "The commission's view is that they'd like to expand as quickly as possible, and there's a commitment to expansion, the question is whether it's 2018 or 2019," McLachlan stated. "One of the key issues is consolidating [the current competition], and having the new young talent coming in to add to the talent profile, and have the standard increase. "The broad summary of the other side is having the momentum and the energy of two new clubs coming in, and the geographical spread, and that's the two sides of the debate. "I think it's accepted that it will be more expensive [too], but this commission is absolutely committed to the AFLW, and investing in women's football." While many AFL fans want a women's league team for every AFL team, McLachlan has stated that, realistically, a bigger AFLW competition may not be achievable for at least ten years, or possibly more. Geelong have been forced to replace suspended players James Parsons and Sam Menegola, and will bring in George Horlin-Smith. They will also consider Rhys Stanley, Aaron Black, Jed Bews, and Darcy Lang.
Adelaide is bringing in Brad Crouch for his first game of the season to replace injured defender Jake Kelly for the Saturday match against the Suns. Richmond will announce their team on Saturday at 5pm. Greater Western Sydney have brought Steve Johnson back into their side and rested Tim Taranto. West Coast midfielder and former Hawthorn premiership star Sam Mitchell will not be facing his former club on Sunday after sustaining an ankle injury during last Thursday's match against Sydney. Jack Darling has been named for the side, along with Dom Sheed, Malcolm Karpany and Mark Hutchings. The Western Bulldogs have brought Shaun Biggs in to replace injured forward Travis Cloke, who suffered broken ribs during the Good Friday game last week. Port Adelaide will have Paddy Ryder back in their side after serving a suspension, and will replace Matt White. Melbourne will announce their team on Saturday at 5pm. The Suns have included Callum Ah Chee to replace injured co-captain Steven May. St Kilda have brought back midfielder Jack Steven after he sustained a punctured lung in the final minutes of the clash against West Coast in round 2. However, they have lost David Armitage after re-injuring his groin during the clash against Collingwood last Sunday. Billy Longer has been named to play his first game of the season and to replace Tom Hickey, who is being managed for the round. Darren Minchington has been added to the extended bench, after kicking four goals for Sandringham in the VFL last weekend, along with Shane Savage and Koby Stevens, who could play his first game for St Kilda this weekend. Essendon will announce their team on Saturday at 5pm. Fremantle have included Darcy Tucker to replace Harley Balic who has sustained a hip injury. Collingwood will announce their team on Saturday at 5pm. Carlton will debut Cameron Polson and include ruckman Andrew Phillips to replace Dale Thomas and Matthew Kreuzer who are out with soreness. Brisbane have omitted Tom Bell and Rohan Bewick for the clash against the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon. Tom Cutler will miss the match with a hamstring injury. Ryan Bastinac, Ryan Harwood and Liam Dawson will replace the three players. The Swans will go into the Sydney derby strong with their three inclusions of Kurt Tippett, Isaac Heeney and Gary Rohan returning from injury. Lewis Melican will debut for the Swans on Saturday. Robbie Fox will miss the clash with a knee injury, and Oliver Florent has been omitted. North Melbourne has chosen to rest Braydon Preuss and Aaron Sandilands and have omitted Nathan Hrovat. Mason Wood has been included in the side for the Saturday night clash, and Ed Vickers-Willis will debut. Hawthorn has included ex-Tiger Ty Vickery, along with Daniel Howe and Kade Stewart. Jaeger O'Meara will miss the clash against West Coast with a knee injury. Melbourne's Jake Melksham has been fined $10,000 by the AFL after misleading investigators when questioned about his betting account. The investigation comes after the ex-Bomber allowed someone else to use his account.
The 25-year old midfielder pleaded guilty after the incident took place in June last year, during his doping suspension. He agreed to partake in an education program to teach other players about the incident in the future. Under the AFL rule, "Rule 2.5(c)" Melksham was fined because an AFL player must not "give any false or misleading evidence to any hearing, investigation, inquiry or appeal conducted under the AFL rules and regulations". Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney spoke about the investigation saying, "Although Jake has been cleared of any wrongdoing relating to the betting activity from June last year, his mistake was not presenting all the information to the AFL investigators at the time of initial contact." "Jake is genuinely remorseful about his mistake and as a club we will continue to support and educate all our players on the importance of these matters." |
Categories
All
Archives
September 2018
|