Alastair Clarkson escapes penalty for outburst in Roos’ loss to Port Adelaide

With a possible two-week ban hanging over his head for his latest tirade, Kangaroos coach Alastair Clarkson has learnt his fate for his outburst down in Hobart during the Roos’ most recent loss.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 04: Alastair Clarkson, Senior Coach of the Kangaroos is see after the round eight AFL match between St Kilda Saints and North Melbourne Kangaroos at Marvel Stadium, on May 04, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Alastair Clarkson has narrowly avoided suspension or a fine for his expletive-laden outburst on the bench in Hobart after the AFL could not prove it was directed at their umpiring staff.

Clarkson has narrowly dodged having his two-match suspended sentence enacted _ and potentially receiving a longer ban _ only because of the lack of proof.

The four-time premiership coach apologised for his third incident in 23 games at the Roos as he said the club didn’t need the “distraction”.

He has pledged to return to the coaches box for the rest of the season as the club said it would support him as he “works to improve his reactions”.

Clarkson voiced displeasure at an umpiring decision in another heavy loss while coaching from the bench and used the expression: “f***ing c***”.

But the AFL could not determine that he used it in the direction of the umpires so did not trigger a penalty that would have seen him also hit with the suspended two-week ban.

Alastair Clarkson has escaped any penalty. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

That ban hangs over his head after he called St Kilda’s Jimmy Webster a c***sucker after the Saints player floored his captain Jy Simpkin in a pre-season clash at Moorabbin.

So Clarkson will be eligible to coach against West Coast in Perth after the club’s bye this weekend.

The AFL said in its statement: “Clarkson has admitted to loudly swearing and using inappropriate language while standing near the umpires and officials’ bench in response to an umpiring decision during the third quarter. After talking to match officials, the AFL was not able to be comfortably satisfied that Clarkson’s swearing was directed towards a specific person or persons and in particular an AFL match official or officials and as such no finding of a breach of AFL Rules has been made.”

Clubs reported this week that their coaches quite often used obscenities and carried on with emotional behaviour while coaching from the bench to help their players.

But Clarkson’s latest outburst has seen calls for him to return to the coaches box against West Coast given he clearly cannot control his temper.

After the Webster outburst, which put his transgressions into double-figure territory, he said it was a “significant reflective moment” for him.

On Thursday he said of his latest indiscretion: “I acknowledge that during the third quarter of Saturday’s game in a moment of frustration I lost my temper and swore while I was coaching from the bench,” Clarkson said.

“It was undisciplined by me and I have expressed my apologies to the AFL. As a club we can do without these distractions and as such I have agreed that it’s best if I remain in the coaches box on match days for the rest of this season.

Roos chief executive Jen Watt said of Clarkson’s behaviour: “Alastair has accepted that his language was inappropriate and we are aligned in the measures he will take in response to this incident. We fully support him as he works to improve his reactions.”

Originally published as Alastair Clarkson escapes penalty for outburst in Roos’ loss to Port Adelaide