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Rodney Eade says Jeremy Finlayson’s punishment for an anti-gay slur shows the AFL ‘went soft’ on Alastair Clarkson, who in the preseason hurled a homophobic slur at an opposing player (1:58)
AFL committee chairman Richard Goyder defended the league’s decision to suspend Jeremy Finlayson for uttering an anti-gay slur after allowing Alastair Clarkson to continue coaching following an incident.
Port Adelaide striker Finlayson was handed a three-match suspension last week for comments directed at an Essendon player at the teams’ clash at the Adelaide Oval on April 5.
In March, North Melbourne manager Clarkson was fined $20,000 and suspended for two matches for a similar insult hurled at St Kilda duo Dougal Howard and Jimmy Webster on trial.
The discrepancy between the sanctions has drawn sharp criticism, added the AFL Players Association (AFLPA), which last week accused the league of applying double standards.
But Goyder had a different opinion.
“I don’t think there’s a difference in the sense that the AFL has taken a very strong stance on this factor, and that stance is the most important thing,” Goyder told reporters on Monday.
“We’ll take a look at the penalty. . . I hope this never happens again.
“If this happens again, we will receive an appropriate sanction given the circumstances.
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“The two consequences were a clear signal from the AFL that there is no position in our game for those kinds of actions. “
Last week, Port Adelaide president David Koch said he hoped the league would “apply consistency to these types of cases in the future,” while AFLPA chief Paul Marsh called for an “urgent review of the AFL’s sanctions framework. “
“We, the AFL, are constantly inconsistent and apply double standards in our technique to players, unlike others, in matters of behavior,” Marsh said.
“This factor highlights the lack of clarity on how the AFL handles those situations, and we believe this will be the catalyst for an urgent review of the sanctions framework.
“If this kind of behavior is a three-week ban for one player, it’s also a three-week ban for everyone involved in the game.
“This deserves to be transparent to everyone in the industry from the start, rather than following the open technique that’s been implemented lately. “