North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson to step away from football

Alastair Clarkson last week blasted his old club Hawthorn and the delays in the racism investigation and it appears the toll has been too much.

A racism scandal has taken its toll on Alastair Clarkson.

North Melbourne remains hopeful Alastair Clarkson’s bombshell decision to step away from the game won’t be the end of his coaching career and he could return this season.

Clarkson informed the club on Wednesday that he’d be stepping away for an indefinite period as he deals with the ongoing impact of an investigation into historical allegations of racism.

The premiership-winning coach returned to the hot seat this year at the Kangaroos but has been dealing with the fallout from the Hawthorn saga since beginning his new role.

Clarkson has maintained his innocence but last week blasted the Hawks and the process for failing to give him a right of reply more than eight months after the allegations were first made.

North Melbourne president Sonja Hood said there was no timeline on when Clarkson would return, with assistant Brett Ratten to take over as interim coach.

Alastair Clarkson let rip at Hawthorn.

Still in shock from Clarkson’s decision, North Melbourne football boss Todd Viney said his friend had not been sleeping as the saga rolled on.

But he said there was no indication Clarkson would walk away permanently and was confident he would be back this season.

“I personally don’t (believe he’ll be lost to coaching),“ Vinery said.

“Certainly that’s a possibility, but I don’t think … I think he just needs a little bit of time.

“There’s no indication in any of the conversations yesterday that that was the end of Alastair Clarkson.

“We feel really confident that he just needs some time to heal and he can take control of the club again and help us get back to contending for silverware.”

Viney said he was confident that Clarkson would be back this season.”

Senior coach Alastair Clarkson will step away from the club to focus on his physical and emotional wellbeing.

— North Melbourne FC (@NMFCOfficial) May 18, 2023

In a club statement, Hood said the club was “providing its full support to Alastair and we commend him for making this important decision to put his health first.”

“Everyone involved has been deeply affected by the Hawthorn investigation and the burden on Alastair has been significant,” the statement said.

“We will give Alastair whatever time he needs to restore his health and look forward to welcoming him back when he is fully fit.

“We have strong leaders at our club who will step up and support and coach our team while Alastair spends time focusing on his health.

“We are fortunate to have someone of Brett Ratten’s experience and capability to coach the team in the interim.”

AFLCA STATEMENT: ALASTAIR CLARKSON pic.twitter.com/gboK9sFYUI

— AFLCoaches (@AFLCoaches) May 18, 2023

The AFL Coaches Association also declared the racism investigation had taken “too long” as it supported Clarkson.

The four-time premiership coach said he had been denied a chance to present his version of events to the investigators over the previous eight months, and Hawthorn should be investigated for its handling of the issue.

“Today’s announcement underscores the importance of expediting the investigation into the Hawthorn issue for all parties involved,” AFLCA chief executive Alistair Nicholson said.

“It has taken too long and is taking a significant toll on those at the centre of the issue.”

Originally published as North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson to step away from football