Staff at Australian Rules-Hawthorn have been sacked following an investigation into the treatment of local players

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Staff at Australian Rules-Hawthorn have been sacked following an investigation into the treatment of local players

MELBOURNE, May 30 (Reuters) – An independent panel investigating historic allegations of abuse of domestic players at 13-time champions Hawthorn made “no adverse findings” against the Australian Football League club’s coaching staff, the AFL said on Tuesday.

Football Australia’s governing body formed a panel last October to investigate “extremely serious” allegations by former players from 2008 to 2016, including one player who said coaches urged him to terminate his partner’s pregnancy.

The allegations were made against former Hawthorn head coach Alistair Clarkson, his former assistant Chris Fagan and the club’s former manager Jason Burt.

All three have denied wrongdoing.

The AFL said it had closed the investigation with the consent of six unnamed complainants “without charges being brought against any person subject to AFL rules”.

“No adverse findings were made in the Independent Investigation against any of the individuals charged,” the governing body said in a statement.

The allegations came to light after Hawthorn commissioned an external review to learn more about the experience of local players at the club.

The accused staff were not given a chance to respond before the club raised its concerns with the AFL.

The allegations damaged the club and the ensuing investigation took its toll on the accused.

Clarkson, who led Hawthorn to four AFL championships from 2008-15, stepped down as head coach of the North Melbourne Kangaroos this month, citing mental health issues.

Hawthorn chief executive Justin Reeves resigned from his post last week due to the “personal toll” of working “during a very difficult period”, the club said.

EXTERNAL REVIEW

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said Hawthorn’s handling of the external review could still come under the league’s scrutiny and potentially lead to charges under its rules.

“I’m not warning him, but I’m certainly not ruling him out,” he told reporters in Melbourne. “I think it will be something that will be done in a reasonably expeditious manner.”

Clarkson, Fagan – now coach of the Brisbane Lions – or Burt were not questioned by the inquiry panel.

The commission’s chairman said in a statement this month that the investigation had reached an impasse because the complainants did not want to share documents with the accused due to privacy concerns.

Australian media reported that the accused refused to be interviewed until he saw the documents.

McLachlan did not clarify how the panel decided there were no findings against Hawthorn’s coaching staff, having not interviewed any of them.

“This is a resolution that has been worked through with the AFL and the complainants and has been approved by the independent chair of the group, given all the things before it,” he said.

The AFL apologized in a statement to players who were victims of racism and said it was committed to devoting more resources to combating it and improving the “cultural safety of First Nations players and their families” in the AFL and the women’s AFLW.

Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Ken Ferris

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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