AFL reveals sanctions for Crows players and assistant coach after training breach

The AFL has sanctioned 16 Adelaide Crows players and assistant coach Ben Hart after they were caught breaking coronavirus protocols last week.

AFL - Adelaide Crows v Sydney Swans at the Adelaide Oval. Crows players including Taylor Walker hang their heads after the loss Picture SARAH REED

The AFL has announced sanctions for 16 Adelaide Crows players and assistant coach Ben Hart after they broke coronavirus social distancing restrictions on Thursday.

The 16 players were handed a suspended one match sanction, while Hart has been stood down from coaching duties for six weeks. Hart will not be able to access club facilities or contact players until June 22nd.

Although AFL coronavirus protocols limited training to groups of two, the Adelaide Crows admitted to briefly training in groups of eight on a golf course last week. The session was supervised by Hart.

On Friday morning, CEO Andrew Fagan conceded the club had made a mistake and apologised for incident on SEN Breakfast.

“We know it’s a community issue and we are all expected to play our role in flattening the curve. That’s clear and we are not shying away from that,” Fagan said.

“It’s an honest mistake, but it’s a serious one, and we understand where the industry is at in these discussions and everyone is pretty frustrated.”

The Crows squad at Adelaide Oval.

Although the police did not charge anyone for the incident, the AFL released a statement on Monday afternoon outlining their reasoning for the sanctions.

“The AFL investigation found that the breach by the players and assistant coach was inadvertent and not done to create a competitive advantage,” the statement read.

“The investigation found the players had been compliant with the protocols for the majority of a two-hour training session where they had worked in pairs before separating into two larger groups of eight – one group to complete an 8-minute kicking drill, one group to complete an 8-minute running drill in pairs, before swapping. The kicking drill was supervised by assistant coach Ben Hart which is where the breach occurred.”

Very fair Crows sanctions. Tough on Ben Hart but sensible application of the penalties for the players.

— Graham Cornes (@Cornesy12) May 11, 2020

Crows assistant coach Ben Hart stood down for 6 weeks over training breach. 16 players cop 1-match suspended sanctions for their roles in the Barossa stuff-up. Luckily, club doesn't lose any draft picks and avoids big fine..

— Andrew Capel (@andrewcapel) May 11, 2020

The Adelaide Crows released a statement soon after accepting the sanctions.

“The League investigation confirmed there was no intent to deliberately break the rules or seek competitive advantage,” the statement read.

“As previously stated, the Club acknowledges adherence to these protocols did not occur during the delivery of certain elements of the training program involving a group of players last Thursday.”

AFL General Counsel Andrew Dillon reiterated that the organisation takes the health and safety of players and general public “extremely seriously”.

“We all have a very clear responsibility to ensure we do everything we can to stop the spread of the virus. The protocols are clear and the actions in this matter, whilst not pre-planned, are a breach of them,” Dillon said.

“We take this matter extremely seriously. We will not compromise the health and wellbeing of the community, and remind everyone in the industry – players, coaches, officials and staff – that they have a responsibility to adhere to the rules for the safety of everyone in the community.”

The 16 sanctioned players were Kyle Hartigan, William Hamill, Ayce Taylor, Ben Davis, Lachlan Sholl, Jordon Butts, Lachlan Gollant, Ronin O'Connor, Ben Keays, Fischer McAsey, Joshua Worrell, William Frampton, Tom Doedee, Elliott Himmelberg, Myles Poholke and Lachlan Murphy.

Hart and the sanctioned Crows players are currently in a 14-day quarantine in accordance with South Australia’s COVID-19 regulations.