Willie Rioli releases statement apologising for his actions amid AFL investigation

As the AFL weighs up more allegations against Port Adelaide’s Willie Rioli, the premiership-winning forward has broken his silence.

Port Adelaide forward Willie Rioli has conceded he said things “that I wish I didn’t” as he stood down from playing in Saturday night’s showdown against Adelaide in the wake of an AFL investigation into a trio of threats made to opposition players.

A day after club chairman David Koch said Port was ‘incredibly angry” with Rioli amid revelations of two on-field, and one post-match threat to an opponent, the 29-year-old conceded he needed to change.

“With all the stress from this week, I feel it’s best for me and the team that I take a break,” he said in a statement.

“I again acknowledge that my actions after last weekend’s game against the Bulldogs were totally unacceptable.

“I apologised to Bailey Dale on Monday and I want to publicly apologise again for the stress my actions have caused.

Willie Rioli says his actions were ‘totally unacceptable”. Picture: Tim Joy

“I say things from time to time on the footy field in the heat of the moment that I wish I didn’t and I’m continuing to work with the club on managing this moving forward.

“It’s not in my true nature or character to say those things and I apologise for any distress I cause to individuals or their families.

“I want to thank the Port Adelaide Football Club and all of my teammates and coaches for their support.”

His decision came after Koch lashed Rioli but said the “horrific” racial abuse he’d copped was a factor as two clubs who had players targeted by Rioli’s on-field abuse declared they had moved on.

Essendon coach Brad Scott said his club had “zero issues” with Rioli amid revelations the embattled Port Adelaide star allegedly made a threat against one of the Bombers players in round 3 and “what happens on the field, stays on the field”.

Scott conceded community expectations had changed as to what was allowable and made it clear he expected all players to stay away from the sort of racial and homophobic slurs that had drawn heavy penalties and heavy scorn in recent years.

But he said in the “combative” AFL arena, he fully expected players would become involved in heated exchanges and none of his players were moved to take anything said by Rioli any further.

Scott’s comments came with the AFL reportedly weighing up information about previous allegations against Rioli in games against Geelong in 2024 and Essendon in round 3 this season. They arose after he avoided penalty for sending a threatening post-game message to Western Bulldogs defender Bailey Dale.

“It’s not an Essendon issue. Our players have zero concerns,” Scott said on Wednesday.

Port coach Ken Hinkley speaks to Rioli, who says the comments were made in the heat of the moment. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

“There are community expectations around player behaviour on and off the field, but within those expectations, I have a pretty firm belief of what happens on the field should stay on the field, provided that it’s within general community expectations.

“Our players feel that whatever was said or done on field against Port Adelaide should stay on the field. We’re not interested in engaging further.”

Geelong also declared the issue “dealt with” after reporting an exchange between Rioli and a player in round 9 last year to the AFL.

“In regards to a report on Tuesday night relating to an incident during the Geelong v Port Adelaide game in round 9 2024, the club can confirm the matter was not raised with the AFL,” a Cats statement said.

“The club spoke directly with Port Adelaide after the match and considered the matter dealt with.”

Koch expressed his club’s disappointment with Rioli’s repeated bad behaviour but said there were other issues at play, including weekly abuse that fuelled the star forward’s anger.

“We have the highest representation of Indigenous players of any club and have always had that. It’s a really important part of our DNA as a club,” Koch told FIVEaa radio.

“You’ve got absolutely no idea what they go through, both on-field and off-field. The threats we receive as a club against our Indigenous players would just horrify you, and we see a responsibility to protect them in that situation as well.

...The Club can confirm the matter was not raised with the AFL. The Club spoke directly with Port Adelaide after the match and considered the matter dealt with.
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— Geelong Cats (@GeelongCats) May 7, 2025

“It’s a build-up of pressure and abuse that they’ve received and every individual handles that differently and that’s what we’ve got to take into account.

“There’s no excusing that and don’t get me wrong, but we have a duty to support the players and turn a bit of attention on to what society is doing to these players.

“We’re incredibly angry about the situation and Willie knows that.

“I’m making absolutely no excuse for Willie’s private message after the game. But you can’t mix on-field and off-field comments or it will lead to places people don’t want to go.”

Scott also said off-field indiscretions should be treated differently.

“Across the decades, expectations have quite rightly changed in line with broader community expectations,” he said.

“I think the AFL have been leaders in tackling issues like racism. We absolutely know that there is no space or place for racism on or off the field.

“But on field, it is a competitive environment, and what would be defined as a threat could be a pretty loose term. We play a combative, competitive sport and I would expect our players to be combative, expect them to do that within the realms of sportsmanship. There’s certainly a place for what happens on the field stays on the field.

He avoided penalty for sending a threatening post-game message to Western Bulldogs defender Bailey Dale. Picture: Michael Klein

“But I’d stress again, provided it’s within what we all know are community expectations of levels of behaviour.

“Our game was played, there were no reports made. Our players, and I’ve canvassed them, have absolutely no issue.”

Originally published as Willie Rioli releases statement apologising for his actions amid AFL investigation