Wil Powell handed five-match ban by AFL for homophobic slur against Brisbane Lions player

Gold Coast and the AFL Players Association have comdemned Wil Powell after he was handed a five-match ban for a homophobic slur directed at a Brisbane opponent.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – MAY 05: Wil Powell of the Suns and Charlie Cameron of the Lions in action during the 2024 AFL Round 08 match between the Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast SUNS at The Gabba on May 05, 2024 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Banned Gold Coast defender Wil Powell says he “absolutely regretted” the homophobic slur he used during the Suns’ Q-Clash loss at the weekend.

The defender is set to miss the next five matches after being slapped with a lengthy suspension from the AFL, with Powell set to undertake education programs during his absence from football.

It is understood that the slur he used was the same that Port Adelaide’s Jeremy Finlayson used that resulted in a three-match ban in April.

Powell said he wanted to regain the trust of the playing group and staff members at the club.

“Even before the Finlayson (comments) it was known it’s not to be tolerated,” he said.

“I’ve now got to educate myself on how to be better … in the situation. I’ll learn from this and I sincerely apologise and I am very regretful for what I said.

“I’ve apologised to the staff upstairs and I asked if they could forgive me for what I’ve said.

“I think it’s just time that will heal this and making genuine relationships with people upstairs. It’ll take time but hopefully I’ve been forgiven and I can start to repair what I’ve said.”

The AFL’s legal counsel Stephen Meade handed down the penalty on Thursday, which was two weeks longer than the three-match ban given to Port Adelaide’s Jeremy Finlayson.

The league believed that the ban deserved to be longer given how recently players had been made aware of their responsibilities again under the league’s rules.

Wil Powell jostles with Charlie Cameron during the QClash. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Powell was hit with the ban under the league’s rules over conduct unbecoming, which means he cannot return until round 14, however the Suns have got a bye that round.

He is also unable to play VFL in that time, with the suspension a considerable blow for the Suns given Powell is a strong-marking rebound defender at a club which has few of those types of players.

“It is extremely disappointing to be dealing with a similar incident in only a matter of weeks,” Meade said.

“The AFL acknowledges Powell’s remorse and co-operation, and while it has considered the circumstances in which the comment was made, there are no excuses for this conduct in our game.

“We foreshadowed both publicly and privately that after what transpired at Gather Round if a similar incident was to happen there would be further consequence.

“There could be no clearer message – homophobia has no place in our game, nor in society. We want all people in the community to feel welcomed in our game and comments such as Powell’s only takes away from this. As a code, as a community, we all must be better.”

Suns captain Touk Miller condemned Powell’s comments.

“As a club we can’t stand for that, what he said was unacceptable,” Miller said.

“But also he’s obviously very sorry about what he did, he’s very remorseful, so we’re going to stand by him and support him, but it’s definitely unacceptable.

“I have spoken to him to see how he is on a personal level, that’s all we can do now is support him because it’s obviously a challenging scenario.

“The penalty is something we have to accept and we will move on.”

Suns captain Touk Miller has condemned Powell’s comment. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Miller said the comments were not indicative of a poor culture at the Suns.

“Our culture is fantastic, before and Dimma and now the values and culture we breed is fantastic,” Miller said.

“Look at the retention we have among our players and their willingness to play for the club.

“I wouldn’t question our brand for a moment, every club has slip ups, they say things or do things that are out of line and we just have to look past that and understand our culture is strong.”

The five-week penalty handed to Powell is another reminder how lucky Alastair Clarkson was to escape with only a $20,000 fine and two-week suspended sentence for calling a St Kilda player a “c***sucker” in the pre-season.

The league was made aware of the incident after the Q Clash game against Brisbane and its integrity team has been investigating the matter since that heavy Gold Coast loss.

Gold Coast CEO Mark Evans said the AFL’s job to hand down sanctions was difficult with similar incidents.

“I want to make sure people understand we are not walking away from the error of the comment and how harmful that can be and like the AFL we want those comments eradicated from our game – we’d love them eradicated from society,” he said.

“It’s been hard to work through the level of sanction given previous instances. We respect that the AFL has got a job to do to continue the education and leadership on the issue but that did cause us some trouble, the level of sanction.

“We’ve committed to working with Wil on how he improves himself and part of that will be how he addresses the playing groups and the staff.

“From my understanding the player has said he didn’t take offence at the comment and has accepted the apology. But that player is put into a position he should not have been put into.

“We do not walk back from the position we’re in now and that we need to make amends for this.”

Powell will not be eligible to play until after Gold Coast’s round 14 bye.

Originally published as Wil Powell handed five-match ban by AFL for homophobic slur against Brisbane Lions player