West Coast Eagles issue defiant reply after Covid-19 photo causes a stir

West Coast Eagles have issued a defiant response after social media users noticed something amiss with a photo the club posted.

West Coast has defended its player.

Fremantle and West Coast managed to escape Western Australia in time to continue the AFL season, but some observers noticed something wasn’t quite right in a photo posted to the Eagles’ Twitter account.

Both teams headed to Victoria on the same flight due to the recent spread of Covid-19 cases, which has seen states move to shut their borders.

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The Eagles posted a photo of the plane trip on social media but fans pointed out Eagles forward Jamie Cripps wasn’t wearing his mask correctly — with his nose exposed above it.

As of January this year, the wearing of face masks is compulsory in all Australian airport terminals and on domestic commercial flights.

An Eagles star wasn't wearing his mask properly.

However, Eagles CEO Trevor Nisbett defended his player despite the supposed infraction.

“The club understands that despite it being a momentary lapse, when a mask slid down the face of one of our players, we must set an example in this respect,” he wrote in a club statement.

“I travelled with the team and other than when they were either eating or drinking, they abided by the protocols.”

Nisbett went on to say “that because it was a charter flight no members of the public were at risk”.

“Players and staff from both West Coast and Fremantle were tested for Covid-19 prior to boarding,” he said.

“Our staff and players abided by protocols and were very disciplined on the flight.

“The entire entourage was again tested on arrival in Melbourne and isolated until all had returned negative tests this morning.”

Dockers and Eagles players shared the same flight out of the state.

Earlier this month the Adelaide Crows were slapped with a $50,000 fine after a photo showed two players without face masks on a flight home from Sydney.

The Crows’ Taylor Walker and Luke Brown were the players in the image, but a statement from AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon revealed they weren’t the only people implicated.

“A number of Crows players and officials did not adhere to the applicable rule of wearing a face mask while on a commercial flight from Sydney to Adelaide last weekend,” the statement said.

“The AFL, in conjunction with the club, investigated the matter and determined a number of officials and players did not wear their face masks properly while on the flight.

“The club has been fined $50,000, with 100 per cent of the sanction to be included in their Football Department Soft Cap.”