Richmond premiership hero Bachar Houli opens up on horror car crash, his new purpose and why he wants peace in Gaza

A fishing and hunting adventure up to the Murray Region in NSW was Bachar Houli’s favourite trip of the year. But this time it went horribly wrong – and he almost didn’t return.

It was Bachar Houli’s favourite trip of the year, a fishing and hunting adventure up to the Murray Region in NSW.

The trip to the Bringenbrong property combined two of his greatest passions in life and on this particularly cold June morning, Houli was excited about what lay ahead.

For the previous three years he’d come to the same place, along with his brother-in-law Khaled and a friend, where they’d share dinner each night with the farmer and his family who owned the property.

It was a great escape and one of the highlights of the trip was always the early morning wild deer hunt.

As usual there was a sense of excitement among the trio as they set off with Houli driving his Jeep across the rugged terrain with the Snowy Mountains in the distance.

The usual banter between them was flying thick and fast before suddenly there was silence. And then the screams.

Houli doesn’t recall exactly what happened next. He remembers briefly being in mid-air and then waking up in the field.

Ex Richmond AFL player Bachar Houli has opened up on the horror crash. Picture: Jason Edwards

“It happened too quick,” Houli explains. “I was in mid-air, not even 10 seconds then bang. I got spat outside, thrown out of the roof and knocked out.

“It turns out we’d slipped on a little ledge and then the slope of the mountain got the better of me. The car tipped over and off it went.

“I did everything right, you look back and ask, could I have done anything different? Not one thing I could have done differently, it was just this one slip.”

While his brother-in-law remained in the ute as it rolled, Houli’s friend did the smart thing and jumped out which potentially saved their lives.

“It’s funny because we always bag him for not taking risks, not being a risk taker yet he was the smart one who jumped out,” Houli said.

“If we didn’t have our mate jump out of the car then things could have been much worse.

“It was a Sunday morning, the farmer wasn’t working and normally the farmer has dinner with us every night but we weren’t actually having dinner with him that night because he had plans elsewhere so it could have been a couple of days before anyone found us.

“God saved us. We have done something right in our life and we live another day to tell the story.”

When he regained consciousness Houli knew he was in serious trouble. The pain was intense and he could barely move. Thankfully, his mobile phone had landed near-by and they were able to call for help.

Houli, who had suffered multiple fractures, was initially taken to Albury Base Hospital before being flown to Royal Melbourne Hospital while Khaled was rushed to Canberra Hospital where he was placed in intensive care.

Five months on and Houli is sitting in a cafe in Altona North a relieved and happy man. He’s just been out fishing on his boat by himself, something he’s only just recently been able to do again.

The injury toll of the crash was a broken pelvis in multiple areas and a badly ruptured rotator cuff of his right shoulder which saw tendons torn off the bone.

He was in hospital for two weeks, confined to a wheelchair for another 10 weeks. He still struggles lifting up his right arm while running, which was his favourite way to remain fit, is off the agenda.

Houli being chaired off with fellow retiring Tiger David Astbury in 2021. Picture: Michael Klein

Throughout his 15-year AFL career Houli had avoided any serious injuries with the regulation hamstring, calf and groin strains his biggest issues.

He admits he still had the football mentality in the initial stages of his recovery, thinking he’d be back and up and moving quickly.

“The surgeon kept saying you’re in a bad position, don’t think this is a three-month thing and you are going to walk and start running,” Houli said.

“The whole time I thought I wasn’t that bad but he kept saying this is long-term, it’s a six to 12 month recovery at least.”

One thing the accident did do was force him to watch football again. Since he retired at the end of 2021 after 232 games and three premierships, the 35-year-old hasn’t engaged with the AFL.

“I don’t miss it,” he says. “The only footy I watched, we’re talking proper consecutive footy, was when I got hurt with the accident because I had no choice, sitting in bed watching every single game.

“I had my time, 15 years in the system I was able to achieve what I wanted to achieve. I go into the club and see the boys now and then, they ask me how it is. I’m fishing, I’m hunting, I’m working in the Foundation, I’m loving life.

“I’m very content, I could have gone on for another year or two and if it had of come my way I probably would have accepted it but it (retirement) definitely came at a good time.

“There were two things I wanted out of footy, health and good form and they are two things I guess I ticked the box.”

The brush with death – his brother-in-law is thankfully also on the road to recovery – certainly heightened Houli’s perspective on life.

“It was scary but what got me through is two things, the element of faith in my life and always being grateful for every opportunity,” he explains. “Even when I’m in a wheelchair I can still talk, I am still able to communicate, still able to see my family.

“The other thing is there is always somebody worse off so be grateful regardless. It comes back to gratitude, the biggest thing for me is my faith, it helped me in footy, helped me in life and will continue to help me for life.

“I know what my true purpose is in this life.”

THE NEW PURPOSE

Bachar Houli’s new purpose is the Islamic College of Sport, the latest project in his quest to develop young leaders within the Muslim community.

It is his biggest and boldest project yet after he started his community work a decade ago through football programs. Then in 2019 he established the Bachar Houli Foundation which creates employment pathways and promotes social cohesion and inclusion for young Muslims through football.

His first football academy back in 2013 went for two days for 50 Year 7-8 students. Now he has 12 programs nationally, male and female, and over the journey they have reached more than 35,000 participants.

The Foundation has a foothold in five states, with two employees in each, while its employment program has provided 30 traineeships with 80 per cent of participants receiving full-time employment across the AFL industry.

Houli loves helping young people from his community succeed and he sees the school, which opens in Coburg next year, as a game-changer.

They are starting slowly with just 25 students at Year 11 level with Year 12 to be added in 2025. The big picture plan is to expand through Year 7-12 with multiple campuses around Melbourne.

Houli’s new purpose is the Islamic College of Sport. Picture: Jason Edwards

The school is aimed at giving young Muslim students the opportunity to pursue their passion for sport in a religiously and culturally welcoming environment. Students will receive the Victorian Certificate of Education – Vocational Major – at the end of their studies.

“We are the first in the world to open something with the faith aspect to it,” Houli explains. “Ultimately these kids love sport but clearly haven’t found the balance between sport and education.

“Here they are going to pursue sport but still get some sort of achievement and certificate in education. And in a safe environment where they can feel comfortable about their faith.”

“We got this idea through conversations we had with many of our academy students. A lot of these students have gone to Islamic schools all their life and then all of sudden for them to transition to a normal school, the parents find it a little bit hard.

“There is a gap and we identified the gap that needed to be filled.

“Where we are excited about is there will be a high performance sport program intertwining the curriculum and it will be multi-sport, not just football but also sports like cricket, basketball, soccer and taekwondo.”

The students will be mentored by experts in each field including Olympic 800m runner Peter Bol, former St Kilda player Ahmed Saad, who is the Foundation’s program manager, and former Victorian cricketer Fawad Ahmed.

Houli talks a lot about the “power of sport”. He was fortunate to experience that in the AFL while so many of his friends never got their chance because they fell through the cracks with no programs or role models in place to guide them.

“We know the power of sport and what it can do,” he says. “I’m so passionate about giving more of our youth an opportunity through sport and then they will be the example for the next generation to come.”

Houli and Shane Edwards after the 2020 grand final win. Picture: Michael Klein

THE ROLE MODEL

Being a role model is not something Bachar Houli set out to be, it chose him he says, by force.

“You have got the decision to be a positive or negative one,” he explains. “The reality is I was the first in our community (to play AFL) and all eyes were on me so in reality it became a 24-hour job.

“Footy is a 24-hour job because everyone is looking at you, what you are doing, how you are moving, what you are eating, what you are drinking. I actually love that because in a way it kept me on my toes to be the best version of myself.

“That’s how I was brought up. This young kid is looking at me, this young kid is watching what I do and I want to have a positive impact. I did that and not once did I shy away from that, not once did I complain about that.

“I actually loved it, it kept me steadfast, having people always watching you.”

Being a leader of his community has been brought into sharp focus in recent weeks when Houli made headlines after sharing a post on social media from rugby league legend Sonny Bill Williams about the plight of the Palestine people in the Israel-Hamas War.

He later took it down – replacing it with a plea for peace – after discussions with Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale, AFL Commissioner Paul Bassat and Richmond fan and prominent Jewish community member Paul Naphtali.

Houli reveals he went through “a rough patch” watching videos and seeing scenes of what was happening in Gaza.

Houli watches Richmond training at Punt Road. Picture: Michael Klein

“I was just asking how can this happen? For what? Is it really worth this?,” Houli said. “No civilians deserve this from both sides, no-one.

“We pray for peace at the end of the day but a lot of damage has been done and we are very emotional. No-one wants to see anyone left without a house, without a community, without a father and mother or vice versa.

“I don’t understand the real politics behind it, whatever it is it’s not deserving of someone, of young kids or innocent people to be going through what they are going through.

“I have a role in my community, I am a role model, people lean on me. But what do I do? I need to do something, I need to show my support.

“Ultimately it is for one purpose, for peace, to make the world a better place but unfortunately, or part of that process, is you have to make people aware of what is happening.

“The truth, you need to make sure people don’t forget, otherwise no noise will be made and nothing will be done about it.”

Houli attended a pro-Palestine protest rally in Melbourne on the weekend and was struck by how diverse the crowd was who’d come together to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“I am so grateful for the fact that we live in a society that is safe from all of that but at the same time you can’t let it go because ultimately we want it to stop,” he says.

“If we remain silent and be quiet about everything, it’s not going to stop.”