AFL ends Hawks racism inquiry, however authorized motion looms

The AFL has introduced no hostile findings in opposition to Alastair Clarkson, Chris Fagan or Jason Burt over the Hawthorn racism allegations.

However the matter is much from over, with ongoing authorized motion wanting inevitable.

Fagan issued a strongly worded assertion inside minutes of the AFL announcement on Tuesday night time, slamming the sequence of occasions over the past 9 months as “this farce of a course of”.

The Brisbane coach additionally strongly protested his innocence once more and mentioned he would welcome the prospect to have his conduct examined in a public court docket.

AFL chief govt Gillon McLachlan referred to as a snap media convention to announce the impartial inquiry investigations into the bombshell claims would finish after eight months.

It means Clarkson, now on depart from teaching North Melbourne, Fagan and Burt, now working at a Melbourne college, are cleared of breaching AFL guidelines whereas they have been at Hawthorn.

The inquiry has reached an deadlock given it couldn’t discover frequent floor between the events concerned.

“That is an imperfect decision and I need to reiterate the best way this report emerged has led to a interval of excessive misery for all events,” McLachlan mentioned.

“It was at all times going to be troublesome to search out an consequence.”

McLachlan harassed the four-person impartial panel endorsed Tuesday’s decision.

Clarkson, Fagan and Burt all vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

“No hostile findings have been made within the Impartial Investigation in opposition to any of the people in opposition to whom allegations have been made,” the AFL mentioned in a prolonged assertion.

“The complainants want to resolve all variations with the AFL.

“Because of this settlement, the complainants don’t want to pursue the Impartial panel Investigation (which they wholeheartedly supported), or make any claims in opposition to the AFL in some other course of or court docket in relation to their allegations.

“The AFL has now terminated the impartial panel Investigation with the consent of the complainants with no prices to be introduced in opposition to any individual topic to the AFL guidelines.”

The AFL assertion mentioned six complainants had agreed to the decision, however they don’t signify all six of the households who’re understood to have made the preliminary allegations.

Considerably, the AFL additionally famous separate authorized motion might nonetheless occur.

“The AFL is barely capable of impose sanctions for breaches of AFL guidelines on individuals topic to the AFL guidelines and respects the proper of the assorted events to the investigation (and people who determined to not take part) to pursue claims in different authorized boards,” the league mentioned.

“Right now’s outcomes don’t intervene with these rights.”

Fagan shortly got here out swinging together with his assertion.

“I’m completely happy for any of my conduct and any paperwork to be aired publicly in a public court docket or correct public course of and let somebody neutral determine what’s true and what’s false,” he mentioned.

“I’ve made no concessions. There are none to make … I’ve carried out nothing incorrect.”

The AFL additionally didn’t rule out taking its personal motion in opposition to Hawthorn for a way the membership dealt with the beginning of the saga.