Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Any player found guilty of using a homophobic slur during an AFL match this season can expect to receive a five-match ban as a starting point.
Although the circumstances surrounding each case will still be considered, the league will need compelling evidence to reduce a ban for vilification, according to two sources with knowledge of the AFL’s position.
Adelaide star Izak Rankine was on the verge of All-Australian selection before he was suspended for a homophobic slur.Credit: Getty Images, Artwork: Matthew Absalom-Wong
Six AFL-listed players have received suspensions ranging from three to six matches after being found guilty of using homophobic slurs during a match since May 2024.
Adelaide midfielder Izak Rankine, who was given a four-match suspension for directing a homophobic slur at Collingwood’s Isaac Quaynor in round 22 last season, will miss Saturday night’s round 1 match against the Magpies at the MCG as he completes the final week of his suspension.
Rankine missed the finals last season and will have missed two matches against Collingwood by the time his penalty expires.
In a controversial decision on the eve of last year’s finals, the AFL accepted a medical submission to eventually hand down the four match ban which kept the window open for Rankine to play in the grand final.
However, without him the Crows exited the finals in straight sets.
The four match suspension was arrived at after the Crows successfully made legal arguments as to why the provisional five-match suspension should be reduced.
Adelaide accepted the gravity of Rankine’s remarks and the need to stamp out homophobic language across all grades of the game with the player apologising for his behaviour.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon made the decision last season to suspend Izak Rankine for four matchesCredit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
However, they believed a consistent application of the rules was required rather than the application of AFL threats to increase the length of the suspension each time a player transgressed, which came after Port Adelaide’s Jeremy Finlayson was banned for three matches in May 2024. Finlayson, Jack Graham and Wil Powell were given three, four and five match bans, respectively, for the same offence over a 16-month period before Rankine’s error.
Crows chairman John Olsen made the point about the need for consistency in high-level discussions with then Commission chairman Richard Goyder during the lengthy period it took for a decision to be finalised.
When the AFL eventually banned Rankine for four matches AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said, “ultimately where we end up there will be ranges because there will be specific circumstances in every case and they will need to be taken into account”. AFL officials have privately conceded the Rankine process was too drawn out.
The AFL Players Association is keen to establish a framework with clear guidelines for player penalties. The AFL’s recently appointed chief operating officer Tom Harley is now responsible for integrity issues.
The AFLPA remain in discussions with the AFL on how such a framework would operate to create consistency while still leaving discretion to reduce or extend the suspension depending on circumstances.
Former Eagles player Mitch Brown became the first player to come out when he revealed last year he was bisexual but no AFL player has come out as gay while still playing.
Unlike the AFLW competition, which has many LGBTQIA+ players, the men’s competition does not have Pride Round. St Kilda and the Sydney Swans have an annual pride game.
Rankine expressed remorse on a podcast a fortnight ago saying he was “sorry to anyone I affected or caused havoc to, I never meant to do that”.
“You want to give up, you want to retire, you know depression and the thing is that I was already dealing with that stuff already through my family and the circumstances which I was given,” Rankine told the Tommy Talks podcast.
Crows CEO Tim Silvers said after the ban that “such language is unacceptable and at odds with the values of our organisation, and we are committed to being a club that fosters a respectful and inclusive environment.”
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