Police, lawyers push for probe into AFL punch

Police and lawyers back a potential criminal probe into an off-the-ball punch that left a Dockers player with a broken jaw.

Andrew Brayshaw sitting in the back of an ambulanc. Picture: Instagram

Police and lawyers have backed a potential criminal investigation into West Coast Eagles AFL player Andrew Gaff’s off-the-ball punch that left a Fremantle Dockers player with a broken jaw and three displaced teeth.

But West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett, who has previously called for heavy penalties for violent acts on the football field, dismissed as inflammatory suggestions that Gaff should face assault charges over punching Andrew Brayshaw.

Melbourne barrister David Galbally QC described the incident as “a very serious ­assault” and called on police to ­investigate.

Perth lawyer Tom Percy QC said community attitudes on ­violence had changed. “I’ve seen people go to jail for less,” he said.

Leigh Matthews, the only Australian football player to have been charged with assault over an on-field incident, said players were “not outside the law of the land” and that Gaff would suffer from guilt and shame for the rest of his life.

West Australian Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said police would assess the punch that sent Brayshaw, 18, to hospital for ­surgery during Sunday’s fiery western derby in Perth.

Fremantle said yesterday the rookie would be unable to eat solids for four weeks and would miss the rest of the season. Gaff, 26, will face an AFL tribunal hearing tonight and is expected to receive a lengthy suspension. Mr Dawson encouraged “the parties concerned” to contact police. “It is rare for police to lay criminal charges as a result of an incident in a professional competitive sporting event,” he said.

“Physical contact on the footy field is expected. The central issue here is what should be governed by the sporting code and what falls within the criminal realm.” A ­Fremantle spokesman said the club had not considered lodging a complaint with police over the incident.

Mr Nisbett said police should not become involved. “We’re looking at it as an on-field incident and we’ll go through the correct processes at the AFL,” he said.

He said he had spoken to Brayshaw’s parents to apologise on behalf of the club.

Mr Nisbett said Gaff’s punch was “different” from an incident in an amateur game in 2015 that resulted in a player breaking his jaw. After that incident, Nisbett called for players engaging in extreme violence to be deregistered.

While there have been a few cases of criminal matters arising from on-field assaults at an amateur sporting level, police have not charged any professional footballers — of any code — with assault since Matthews went to court over a 1985 incident that left Geelong player Neville Bruns with a broken jaw.

Several professional rugby league players have successfully taken civil action after being injured by opposition players.

Last year amateur player Ali Fahour, the AFL’s former diversity manager, avoided a conviction for punching a player unconscious during a melee. The 34-year-old was sentenced to a two-year community corrections order after pleading guilty.

Matthews said yesterday the option should be available for police to get involved. “Andrew Gaff is the one who’s going to be mortally wounded for the rest of his life,” Matthews said on Macquarie radio. “Brayshaw will be uncomfortable for a week or two and then he’ll be fine. But the guilt and the shame will live with Andrew Gaff for the rest of his life.”

Mr Galbally said police would have the power to get involved for what he said was an “appalling” incident. “Looking at it, it’s a very serious assault. If you were just on the street and committed something like that, a judge would look at putting you in [jail],” he told Fairfax Media.

Mr Percy said he been involved in cases in which amateur players had been jailed for assault.

“The police regularly get involved in these sorts of things,” he said. “I would have thought if he was an amateur footballer he’d probably be on remand already.”