AFL diversity manager Ali Fahour reported for on-field hit
UPDATE: A TEARFUL AFL diversity manager Ali Fahour has spoken of his punch during a weekend game that has led to calls for his sacking. WATCH THE VIDEO
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AFL diversity manager Ali Fahour choked back tears as he admitted he was ashamed of his coward punch in a suburban football match that left his victim calling for his sacking.
Fahour fronted the media this afternoon and said he had no explanation for the brutal blow, which happened during a suburban football game on the weekend.
“I am deeply ashamed of my actions,” Fahour said in a prepared statement.
“There is no explanation or excuse.
“I accept that at no time, is this kind of action acceptable on the football field or anywhere else.”
Fahour had initially accepted a two-match ban for his hit, but the NFL tribunal will now sit on Wednesday night to decide his fate.
“I will ... make a formal apology to the Northern Football League, (victim) Dale Saddington the Whittlesea Football Club and my teammates,” he said.
“I will fully accept the outcomes of the tribunal.”
Fahour admitted his act had brought a cloud over his work as AFL diversity manager.
“I understand that my actions reflect on my employer the AFL and the programs that I oversee
The AFL’s work in the community is so important,” he said.
“And I am extremely sorry that my actions take away from that work and I’ve spoken with my manager at the AFL and they will not make any comment prior to the hearing on Wednesday night.”
The sickening punch by Fahour isn’t his first tribunal appearance for 2017.
He was found guilty of striking in West Preston-Lakeside’s Round 3 loss to Macleod.
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His victim Whittlesea defender Dale Saddington says the league executive should lose his job and hasn’t ruled out legal action over the punch.
The 33-year-old was punched in the jaw during the third quarter of his side’s Northern Football League match against Fahour’s West Preston-Lakeside on Saturday.
Fahour was red-carded after the incident and Saddington said he is thankful he survived.
Asked if Fahour should retain his position with the AFL, Saddington said: “No, I wouldn’t have thought so.
“It’s no different just because it’s on a footy field. You can’t just go whacking blokes from behind.”
Fahour said he would plead guilty to the charges.
“I’ve apologised to Dale and hope that he accepts my apology and his health is the most important issue,” Fahour said.
Fahour, who last week gave Bachar Houli a glowing character reference, was captured on video striking Saddington.
Running past a scuffle, Fahour clocked Saddington with a right hook, before continuing to remonstrate with other players.
Saddington said he would wait until after the tribunal handed down its verdict before deciding whether to pursue police charges against Fahour.
He said he could not remember the incident, but had been told the impact was heard by spectators at Whittlesea Showgrounds.
“They reckon the noise was pretty loud as well, it was a big hit. People heard it, not just saw it,” he said.
The incident took place two weeks after the NFL held a ‘Stop the Coward Punch Round’, which it said was aimed at raising awareness of “the dangers and devastation of social and street violence.”
The AFL issued a statement, confirming Ali Fahour had notified the AFL’s executive that he was reported for a serious on-field incident.
“A Tribunal hearing for this matter will be held on Wednesday, July 5,” the statement read.
“The AFL respects the role of the NFL Tribunal to handle this matter under its Rules and Regulations, and it is not appropriate for the AFL to comment in advance of the hearing.
“Mr Fahour has advised the AFL that he will plead guilty to a striking charge and will issue a statement to media later today.”
Saddington’s wife, Susie, two-year-old Tahli and three-month-old Tyla were on the sidelines and witnessed the punch, which left him with concussion and forced him to take Monday off work.
“(My wife) is pretty upset, she doesn’t like talking about it,” Saddington said from his Whittlesea home.
The plasterer said his boss could not be confident he was ready to use power tools two days after being hit, forcing him to consider legal action to recover lost earnings.
“I’m a sub-contractor, so if I don’t work I don’t get paid,” Saddington said.
“To make up for my pay that I am missing now because of him.
“My boss, he’s seen it and he wants me to have more time off because I am using a lot of power tools during the day.”
Saddington spent most of Sunday in the Northern Hospital undergoing X-rays, which found his jaw had not been broken.
“There’s a lot smaller blokes than me in my footy side and if it had have been one of them, who knows?” Saddington said.
“We have got a lot of kids in our team. If it had have been one of them, they might not have been so lucky.”
Saddington tried to play on after the hit, but was urged to leave the field by Whittlesea officials when it became clear he had been concussed.
“I remember getting up and I had a bit of jelly legs,” Saddington said.
“I thought I was all right, I stayed on. Then I remember a high ball coming in and I just couldn’t see it properly, I couldn’t read it at all.”
Saddington said the AFL should review Fahour’s position
“I’m pretty lucky that I am still here to be honest,” Saddington said.
“You’d think someone in a high up position like that would be trying to lead the way to clean the community up.
“He should know better.”
Saddington said he would await doctor’s clearance before returning to the field, but was determined not to let the incident spell the end of his career with the Eagles.
He said he hoped to avoid attending the tribunal, unsure he would be ready to face Fahour just days after the blow.
“I am hoping I don’t have to go, because I don’t really want to see him,” he said.
“I don’t think I have to go in because it is all there on the video.”
Head of Australian Football International, Brian Clarke, wants Fahour sacked.
Clarke, the former president of the AFL Fans Association, said Fahour’s “brazen act of thuggery” should end his employment at AFL House.
“Fahour has clearly shown he is not capable of meeting the high standards required of him,” Clarke said.
“Gillon needs to do the right thing and terminate his employment. Working at AFL House is a privilege, not a right, especially if it is a right to the head.”
It is not the first ugly incident Fahour has been involved in playing local football.
In 2012 he was charged with misconduct after becoming involved in an altercation with a spectator while playing.
Fahour, a former VFL player for Bendigo, was handed a severe reprimand by the league.
“We are aware of it, he told us on the weekend that he had been reported,” the AFL spokesman Patrick Keane told the Herald Sun.
“Our understanding is the tribunal is Wednesday night. Obviously from an AFL point of view our expectation within our competition is that our clubs, players and administrators follow the tribunal process.
“Therefore the AFL in this case certainly needs to do the same thing to the Northern Football League.
“There will be a tribunal this week and we need to respect that and not offer a great deal of commentary in advance, other than to confirm that yes he has a charge he needs to answer.”
The Herald Su n has asked the Northern Football League for comment.
Originally published as AFL diversity manager Ali Fahour reported for on-field hit
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