Hawthorn hoping to avoid AFL sanctions as racism allegations remain unresolved

The Hawthorn president, Andy Gowers, has admitted that closing the investigation into alleged racism within the AFL club does not represent a “total resolution” of the matter, and said he hoped the league would not go on to sanction the club.

Gowers spoke to media on Wednesday morning, after the AFL revealed that an independent panel would make no adverse findings against the three former Hawthorn staff who were linked to the allegations: Alastair Clarkson, Chris Fagan and Jason Burt. All three have strongly denied any wrongdoing.

“The announcement last night by the AFL, in one sense, is a step towards a resolution, a broader resolution, but it’s only one part of it, because it only involves the players,” Gowers said.

“A final resolution will involve us, the AFL and also our former staff on top of that. So there’s mixed emotions. Because although it was a resolution for one or two parties in a sense, it’s not total resolution and we’re not able to move on completely.”

The AFL is still considering sanctions against Hawthorn for any potential breaches of AFL rules in relation to the allegations.

Gowers said that in a “perfect world” the club would not be sanctioned, with penalties including fines or the stripping of draft picks among the options reportedly being considered.

“We’re disappointed that this is the nature of the discussion. We went into this with the best of intentions. Where it ended up, no-one is happy about. That’s clear,” he said.

“But the dialogue between all parties has not been able to happen to this point. We would welcome that and we think that that is an opportunity for people to be heard, to tell their truth and to heal, as I said before.”

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