North Melbourne premiership player Barry Cable could be removed from the AFL Hall of Fame

A judge has ruled former North Melbourne premiership player Barry Cable sexually abused a young girl – but will he be removed from the Hall of Fame?

AFL Hall of Fame member Barry Cable has been ordered to pay more than $800,000 in damages

Two-time North Melbourne premiership player Barry Cable could be removed from the Australian Football Hall of Fame after a judge in Western Australia concluded that he believed Cable had sexually abused a young girl.

The AFL Commission recently approved a rule change which will allow those in the hall of fame to have their memberships suspended or revoked.

Members of the hall of fame who are convicted of indictable offences or have engaged in serious misconduct that has brought the game into disrepute could be wiped from the record books under the changes, with the new rules to be active from June 27.

Those who have already been inducted into the hall of fame – which includes players, coaches and officials – would have an opportunity to respond to questions about their ongoing eligibility before their membership is suspended or revoked.

Both regular hall of fame members and those with top-tier Legend status – of which there are currently 32 – would be able to be booted from the honours board.

Under previous guidelines, prospective hall of fame members were judged on character before being added to the game’s elite group but there were no mechanisms to allow them to be later removed on character grounds.

Barry Cable faces a civil court judgment on Friday.

The rule changes came ahead of the outcome of Cable’s civil court case on Friday.

Cable – who holds Legend status in the Australian Football Hall of Fame – was ordered to pay damages of $818,700 to a woman who had claimed she was sexually abused by him from the age of 12 and into her adulthood.

The incidents were alleged to have occurred during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

During the trial, four other women also came forward and claimed they were abused by Cable as children.

Cable has never been criminally charged with any offence.

The AFL said no decision would be made on Cable’s ongoing hall of fame eligibility until the new rules come into place later this month.

“The AFL acknowledges the court’s findings today and has no further update at this stage,” a league spokesperson said.

Cable, 79, was inducted to the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996, before being upgraded to Legend status in 2012.

He is also a legend in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

Originally published as North Melbourne premiership player Barry Cable could be removed from the AFL Hall of Fame