Brisbane Lions player banned for four weeks for homophobic slur

Topic:AFL

Lions player Koby Evans has apologised after receiving a four-match ban for making a homophobic slur in the VFL.  (Getty Images: AFL Photos/Graham Denholm)

Brisbane Lions player Koby Evans says his language was "totally unacceptable" after receiving a four-match ban for making a homophobic slur against an opposition player in the VFL.

Evans was found guilty of conduct unbecoming, and the AFL said that the length of his ban was consistent with penalties for players who had self-reported similar comments. 

AFL chief operating officer Tom Harley said players had a "very clear understanding" of what was acceptable on and off the football field.

Link copied

Brisbane Lions player Koby Evans is the latest AFL-listed player to be banned for making a homophobic slur in a game, receiving a four-match sanction.

Evans received the ban for making the comment against an opponent from Coburg in a round six match in the VFL.

The 18-year-old will not be able to play in either the AFL or VFL from rounds nine to 12, and will also undertake LGBTQI+ inclusion education.

"My language was totally unacceptable, I'm disappointed in myself, and apologise to the LGBTQI+ community and our club," Evans said in a statement from the Lions.

"I knew as soon as it came out of my mouth, that I'd made a bad mistake and this language is unacceptable on or off the field."

The AFL released a statement saying that everyone understood that homophobia and homophobic language had "absolutely no place in our game at any level".

"Our players have a very clear understanding of what is acceptable on the football field and in society. Koby self-reported this incident and has taken ownership of his mistake both privately and publicly," AFL chief operating officer Tom Harley said in the statement.

"It is extremely disappointing to be dealing with another incident of this nature. While we will always examine the individual circumstances, we cannot be more clear that respect and inclusion are not optional in our game — they are fundamental."

The case follows the controversy over St Kilda player Lance Collard's ban for making a similar slur in a VFL game.

ABC Sport Daily is your daily sports conversation. We dive into the biggest story of the day and get you up to speed with everything else that's making headlines.

Collard was suspended by the AFL Tribunal for nine weeks, with two weeks suspended, for making a homophobic slur against an opponent in a game against Frankston in the VFL.

The AFL sacked Appeals Board chair Will Houghton KC after the board, in its reasons, found the penalty excessive, saying that football was a "highly competitive" game, and that it was "commonplace that players can employ language from time to time which is racist, sexist or homophobic whilst on the field".

The AFL said it considered the Collard case to be concluded, but strongly rejected the Appeal Board's suggestion, saying stronger action was not only warranted but necessary.