Fremantle has sanctioned two of the three players involved in a house gathering on Sunday night.
Despite the WA Police not charging the three Dockers players investigated for breaching coronavirus restrictions by attending a raucous house party, the Dockers have taken a stance.
The club has imposed sanctions on Luke Ryan and Jason Carter, with first-year player Michael Frederick avoiding a fine.
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Key Dockers defender Ryan, and young teammates Frederick and Carter were seen in a social media video that sparked the investigation. Seven people are seen in the video, which was reportedly filmed in Perth on Sunday night.
Western Australia had restricted gatherings to two people until Monday, when the limit was raised to 10 people.
Ryan and Carter have both been fined $3000 ($2000 suspended) and will be required to undertake yet to be determined community service.
Frederick was not sanctioned given he was only at the private residence for a short time and was unaware that other people would be attending.
Fremantle CEO Simon Garlick said the club was disappointed in the player’s actions.
“Even though the gathering technically met the private residence requirements of one person per four square metres, the players acted contrary to the 1.5-metre social distancing advice the rest of the community has been following,” Garlick said.
“We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard, regardless of the outcome of the police investigation. The wider community is doing a great job in helping to flatten the curve to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and we have to uphold our end of the bargain.
“The resumption of the 2020 season will depend not only on approvals by governments and health authorities but also the trust, understanding and support of a community already impacted by COVID-19.
“There is a well held community expectation that if we want to help flatten the curve and get somewhere back to normality, our players have a leading role to play in following social distancing rules without exception.
“The AFL and all clubs are also doing everything possible to get the season underway again, and part of being able to play games is demonstrating that we can adhere to the protocols that have been set and which everyone else in the community is required to follow.”
Garlick said the players were sanctioned in consultation with the player leadership group.
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WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson had earlier told Fremantle chief executive Simon Garlick they’re no longer investigating the incident.
“It’s a bit obstructive these people are high profile footballers but I’m not going to waste valuable police time,” Mr Dawson said on 6PR radio.
“We’ve made an assessment – there’s nothing to see here in terms of any breach.”
“We actually don’t see there’s an overt matter there we need to chase through and I’m not going to hunt down any minute evidence. We actually don’t think there’s any sufficient evidence there anyway.”
“If it’s a breach of anything internally in the club they’ll deal with that themselves but it’s now no longer a police matter.”
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Ryan, 24, emerged as an important intercept defender for Fremantle last year and played his 50th AFL game in round one this year before the season was put on hold because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Carter, 20, has played only two senior games, and 19-year-old Frederick is yet to make his AFL debut after being drafted last November.
The incident involving the Dockers trio comes just days after NRL players Nathan Cleary, Latrell Mitchell, Josh Addo-Carr and Tyronne Roberts-Davis were fined for similar offences.
Last month, North Melbourne AFL players Cameron Zurhaar and Nick Larkey were forced to apologise for hosting a party and breaching social distancing guidelines.
On the same night as Zurhaar and Larkey’s party, Geelong vice-captain Mark Blicavs also hosted at a gathering at his house, which he later apologised for.
– with AAP