Roger Vaughan
The AFL faces fresh scandal in the wake of the Sydney suspensions and sexual assault allegations due to the antics of Richmond players at their Mad Monday function.
Video has emerged of Tigers players at a Victorian country pub said to be re-enacting what was alleged to have happened involving Swans players in their Melbourne hotel room a week ago.
Five Sydney players have been suspended for breaching club standards, and a separate police investigation continues.
In the Richmond video, a player can be seen feigning shock as he is spanked on his rear by a teammate.
Another teammate whips a fellow player on the back with a belt.
The Tigers’ season finished on Saturday after their loss to Geelong. The video was captured at Gippsland’s The Garfield Hotel, south-east of Melbourne.
A statement was released on the hotel’s social media accounts on Monday, defending the players.
“We hosted the Richmond Football Club at our venue today, and we could not speak more highly of the way they conducted themselves. For such a young group, they were extremely respectfl and a fun group of boys to deal with,” the statement read.
“The enjoyed a few quiet beers to unwind after a long season, and we see nothing wrong with that. They had booked out the venue for the afternoon, so they were the only patrons on site. They enjoyed their afternoon and moved on.
“In our view, this has been blown out of proportion. Two members of the media were waiting on their arrival this morning and remained on site filming in the hope of capturing a misstep, which we consider disappointing
Richmond was contacted for comment.
Also on Monday, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon delivered a strongly-worded statement at the league’s finals launch.
As the Swans crisis continues, Dillon said respect for women was not negotiable.
There have been several incidents over the past few years at Mad Monday celebrations – the day to mark a club’s end of season – that have sparked controversy about player behaviour.
Five Swans players – Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon – were on Wednesday suspended for the rest of the season for “breaching club standards” over the Melbourne hotel incident.
No charges have been laid and this masthead is not suggesting any wrongdoing on the part of the five suspended players.
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