AFL News 2024: AFL investigating a St Kilda player for alleged homophobic abuse in VFL game

St Kilda is bracing for rookie Lance Collard to be handed a ban for longer than five weeks as an investigation revealed the youngster used slurs more than 10 times against multiple opponents.

GEELONG, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 16: Lance Collard of the Saints. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

St Kilda draftee Lance Collard could face the longest penalty handed down by the AFL for homophobic comments after the extraordinary nature of his outburst on Saturday.

The Herald Sun revealed on Monday that Collard was under investigation for homophobic comments to multiple opponents while playing for VFL affiliate Sandringam against Williamstown.

It is understood Collard made those comments to at least two and as many as three Williamstown players, and used the “f*****” term as many as 10 times.

The Saints are bracing for a suspension that could be well in excess of the five weeks that Gold Coast’s Wil Powell received for his homophobic slur on an AFL opponent earlier this year.

Lance Collard pictured with St Kilda coach Ross Lyon earlier this season. Picture: Michael Klein

The AFL is aware of the magnitude of the offence and its responsibilities to set community standards and will have to balance the suspension with Collard’s naivety and inexperience as a first-year player.

Collard and the Williamstown players involved in the incidents were being interviewed on Monday by the AFL integrity department, with a brief of evidence to be handed to legal counsel Stephen Meade later in the week.

But Powell and Port Adelaide’s Jeremy Finlayson both uttered the ‘F’ word a single time and were immediately apologetic about their actions.

Collard is the No.28 selection in last year’s national draft and has played three AFL games so far in his debut season as a pacy, hard tackling small forward.

But his inexplicable outburst is likely to end his AFL season as the AFLPA works with him as the investigation develops.

AFL will have to balance the fact the offence was so comprehensive from a first year kid with the reality it only fined Al Clarkson this year for his own slur. But it surely won’t be less than five weeks 👇 https://t.co/dYBhFmhEB8

— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) July 15, 2024

It is understood another VFL player was also suspended for up to five weeks this year for using a similar slur but it was not made public.

Port Adelaide’s Jeremy Finalyson was banned for three weeks earlier this year for homophobic comments, with the league taking into account his immediate apology and contrition.

But when Powell was suspended the AFL’s legal boss Stephen Meade made clear a line in the sand had been drawn with the five-week ban.

“It is extremely disappointing to be dealing with a similar incident in only a matter of weeks,” Meade said. “We foreshadowed both publicly and privately that after what transpired at Gather Round if a similar incident was to happen there would be further consequence,” Meade said.

“There could be no clearer message – homophobia has no place in our game, nor in society. We want all people in the community to feel welcomed in our game and comments such as Powell’s only takes away from this. As a code, as a community, we all must be better.”

AFL coaching legend Alastair Clarkson was fined by the AFL and given a suspended sentence after calling a St Kilda player a “c***sucker” after his co-captain Jy Simpkin was concussed in an incident with Saint Jimmy Webster.

Gold Coast’s Powell has finished a “guidance and education” program during his suspension.

His penalty was lessened by his contrition as he apologised to the player during the game, on the full time siren and again hours later.

“As soon as the word came out of my mouth, I knew I had made a terrible mistake,” he said in a club statement.

Originally published as AFL News 2024: AFL investigating a St Kilda player for alleged homophobic abuse in VFL game