The AFL has imposed a four-match ban on GWS Giants player Josh Fahey, while forward Jake Riccardi and several teammates will miss the first two games of the upcoming season. These penalties are part of a series of sanctions issued by the league following a joint investigation with the Giants into a players' end-of-season function last month.
Joe Fonti, Toby McMullin, Harvey Thomas, and Cooper Hamilton have also been banned for two matches each. Captain Toby Greene and senior players Lachie Whitfield, Connor Idun, Tom Green, Sam Taylor, and Lachie Keeffe have been fined $5,000 each for failing to exhibit 'appropriate levels of leadership' and allowing the inappropriate acts to continue. Harry Perryman, who has since moved to Collingwood, has also been fined $5,000.
In announcing the penalties, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon stated that the players involved had made 'terrible choices.' Dillon confirmed that an anonymous complaint was lodged with the AFL integrity portal the day after the 18 September event, which featured a 'controversial couples' dress-up theme.
'What occurred at the venue was entirely unacceptable... I am deeply disappointed,' Dillon said.
Fahey played seven senior games for GWS last year but did not feature this year. Riccardi, a key forward, has played 69 games and is the most experienced among the suspended players. The AFL revealed that 'Josh Fahey dressed as a former NRL player and Riccardi as a taxi driver. During the skit, Fahey simulated inappropriate acts with a sex doll. Riccardi was not involved in that part of the skit.'
McMullin and Hamilton simulated the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in costumes related to that event, while Thomas and Fonti dressed as a particular professional sportsman and a girl, respectively, engaging in inappropriate behavior during their skit, according to the AFL.
The sanctioned players were given until Thursday morning to respond to the AFL, which punished them under the league's conduct unbecoming rule. 'As part of this theme, players dressed up in themed pairs and many performed skits connected to their costumes,' the league stated. 'In the view of the AFL and the club, some of the skits were completely unacceptable and totally at odds with the code's values.'
On Thursday morning, Greene's manager, Paul Connors, told SEN that Greene 'needed to be better' over the function debacle. 'There is absolutely no excuse for the behavior that took place, and we are very distressed by some of the incidents that occurred,' Giants chief executive David Matthews said in a statement.
'As a club built on the values of inclusiveness and respect for all, it was a clear breach of the club's policies and values as well as a significant departure from the standards of behavior that we expect of our players. We have taken these matters seriously from the outset with a full investigation by the club, alongside the AFL.'
GWS will provide further education for the entire playing group, in addition to the already mandatory education sessions in relation to violence against women, and racial and religious vilification.
