By Jake Niall and Sam McClure
Port Adelaide forward Willie Rioli will not play in this weekend’s Showdown against Adelaide after the AFL handed him a one-match sanction following three separate incidents involving alleged threatening behaviour.
The player himself, however, had already stepped away from the game earlier on Thursday and offered a public apology for his “totally unacceptable” actions.
Port Adelaide’s Willie Rioli.Credit: AFL Photos
Port Adelaide sent a strong statement of their own, reminding the AFL industry that it “can do more to seek to understand the daily challenges that our First Nations and multicultural players and staff live with on a daily basis”.
In a statement from the league late on Thursday afternoon, the AFL also determined that Rioli must participate in education around “respectful/non-violent language to be prescribed by the AFL”.
“We understand in a competitive and at times combative environment there are exchanges between players on field, but they still need to be in the realms of respect and sportsmanship and that applies to everyone,” AFL general counsel Stephen Meade said.
“After receiving the additional information about further threats, we investigated and determined Rioli should not be eligible to play this week and that he undertakes further education around a pattern of behaviour we don’t want to see in any part of our game – on or off the field.
“Respect for each other, whether players, coaches, fans, is the cornerstone of our AFL community and it is a reminder for everyone involved to treat each other with respect.”
Ken Hinkley speaks with Willie Rioli boundary-side during the Power’s at-times fiery clash with the Hawks in Gather Round.Credit: Getty Images
Following the announcement of the one game suspension, Port Adelaide released a statement that both the club and Rioli accepted the ban, but reminded people that Rioli had been on the receiving end of racist remarks on several occasions.
In the statement, Port Adelaide said they wrote to the AFL three weeks ago because the club had become concerned about the narrative that Rioli or other Indigenous players had “provoked” racist comments, something Port Adelaide said is “deeply problematic”.
“Willie, like many of our First Nations and multicultural players, has endured racist abuse both directly and casually throughout his career – not as exceptional incidents, but as a persistent, ongoing reality,” the club said.
“On field comments that may not seem racial on the surface, can be interpreted as racist to a First Nations or multicultural person who has endured systematic racist comments since they were young enough to recall.”
In an earlier statement, Rioli confirmed he had withdrawn from Saturday night’s Showdown against the Crows.
“With all the stress from this week, I feel it’s best for me and the team that I take a break,” he said.
“I again acknowledge that my actions after last weekend’s game against the Bulldogs were totally unacceptable.
“I apologised to Bailey Dale on Monday and I want to publicly apologise again for the stress my actions have caused.
“I say things from time-to-time on the footy field in the heat of the moment that I wish I didn’t, and I’m continuing to work with the club on managing this moving forward.
“It’s not in my true nature or character to say those things and I apologise for any distress I cause to individuals or their families.”
The Power goalsneak, who took part in training on Wednesday night, spent two hours on Wednesday afternoon being quizzed by the AFL as part of a reopened probe into his on- and off-field interactions with opponents.
Rioli’s decision to withdraw from the Showdown was his alone, and not prompted by the Power – according to club sources speaking on the condition of anonymity. According to the club, he was mentally drained by the saga that arose from the reopening of the investigation, following reports of him allegedly verballing Geelong and Essendon players.
The Power had been optimistic Rioli would play on Saturday night.
The AFL did not punish Rioli on Monday for his alleged threatening message to a Western Bulldogs player directed to that player’s teammate, Dale, after last weekend’s game, but re-opened the case after a second case, revealed by this masthead, came to light on Tuesday afternoon.
The Power and Bulldogs dealt with the matter privately on Monday, in consultation with the AFL, and there was no sanction for Rioli. But then two further claims of threats by Rioli against emerged which the league had no knowledge about.
Separately on Wednesday, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon met club bosses and implored them to inform the league in the future when such allegations emerge against players, telling them the league could not act on incidents it had no knowledge of.
According to a source with knowledge of the Rioli investigation, the AFL’s integrity unit interviewed Rioli, the relevant Geelong and Essendon players whom he had allegedly singled out, and the football bosses of the three clubs involved.
The AFL took the view that it couldn’t walk past Rioli’s pattern of alleged behaviour. Privately, Port Adelaide felt that, had Rioli been fined earlier in the week, the whole episode may not have escalated into the same level of controversy.
This masthead revealed on Tuesday that Rioli was alleged to have threatened a Cats player during a round nine game last year, while a report on Nine, which owns this masthead, on Tuesday night claimed Rioli had also used violent language towards a Bombers player in a game this year.
Port said Rioli made a “significant error” with his post-game message but emphasised he was not the first player to make idle threats on the field. Power chairman David Koch and said the club was “incredibly angry” with Rioli about the online message, but said there was an important difference between on- and off-field comments.
Koch and Power footy boss Chris Davies also said on Wednesday that the significant racial abuse aimed at Rioli over long periods was important context to Rioli’s behaviour.
Port Adelaide did not accuse Dale of making any racist comments. The club’s accusations related to incidents in the past involving other players and spectators.
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