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"Compelling medical submissions": AFL CEO speaks on Rankine ban
SEN • August 21st, 2025 7:26 pm
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon has spoken on Izak Rankine's four-match suspension over the use of a homophobic slur.
Following four days of negotiation, the AFL settled on a lesser suspension for the Crows star, with the CEO citing "compelling medical submissions" as the reason behind the decision.
Dillon fronted the media on Thursday afternoon.
“Following an investigation, and submissions from Adelaide and Izak Rankine, including compelling medical submissions, Izak has received a four-match sanction for using a homophobic slur towards a Collingwood opponent," Dillon said.
"The language used with offensive hurtful and highly inappropriate. Importantly, this incident was called out by the players and ultimately acknowledged by Izak himself as wrong.
"Inclusion and respect are clear priorities for the AFL. They are central to who we are as a game and as an organisation. I know people in the LGBTQI+ community are hurting when an incident like this occurs.
"One incident is one too many, and the fact that there have bene multiple incidents over the last 18 months shows there is still much work to do. Players get taunted, players get provoked, but when the line is crossed, there must be accountability, and in this instance, Izak is paying a significant price.
"But let me be very clear, this behaviour and language is not acceptable. I wont stand for it, and nor will our organisation and the broader industry."
Beyond the Rankine sanction, Dillon also addressed the conversations surrounding the AFL's decision to employ rapper Snoop Dogg as part of the Grand Final pre-game entertainment.
"In light of this issue, I also want to address the recent commentary in the last couple of days around our Grand Final entertainment," Dillon continued.
"We cannot vouch for every lyric in every song ever written or performed by any artist who has or will appear on our stage, Australian or international. But what I can say is our pre-match entertainment on Grand Final day will be family friendly and consistent with the audience at the MCG and those watching the broadcast.
"It is also important to remember that we have engaged Snoop Dogg in 2025 as the person that he is today. He has spoken publicly about his past. He has changed, and today he is a grandfather, philanthropists. He helps rehabilitate youth and is a global entertainer who has performed at both the Superbowl and the Olympic closing ceremony to audiences of more than 100 million people.
"In those environments, his performance was appropriate and well received, and his performance this year at our grand final will be fitting for the best sporting event in the country."
Dillon opened the floor to questions regarding the sanction.
Did the ‘finals’ have any bearing on the outcome?
“No. A game is a game, and that was what we took into account.”
So if it happened in round 5, you’d arrive at the same outcome?
“Absolutely.”
You’ve talked about the Jack Graham incident (receiving a four-match ban for use of a homophobic slur), that was five down to four because he self reported. Why is it the same for Izak?
“There’s a range when we look at it. We’ve had a number of instances in the last couple of years, and there’s been in the AFL 3, 4 and 5 match suspension. We look at the specific instances and in this one, there were submissions made including compelling medical submissions that were taken into account when arriving at the sanction.”
Can you talk about those medical submissions at all?
“No.”
Why did this process take so long?
“This is a really serious issue, and it’s one we take seriously and it has significant ramifications for the player and the club in the competition. We were advised by Adelaide on Sunday night, there was an investigation and interviews on Monday leading into Tuesday, provisional determination made late Tuesday, Adelaide and Rankine were then given the ability to make submissions in relation to that provisional determination, receive them late last night. They were considered today, and we made the determination this afternoon.”
Is there a quicker way you can come to this decision in any way shape or form?
“It’s serious, and there is significant price to pay. We’ve taken our time, we’ve got to the outcome.”
What was the main factor between five games and four?
“It was the submissions that were made, the compelling medical conditions. I’m not going to go into any detail on that.”
What the ability to potentially play again this season a factor?
“No.”
Are you prepared for what Grand Final week will look like if he’s eligible to play?
“I haven’t thought through that. What we’ve done is had an investigation, concluded that, received submissions, assessed them and come up with a sanction. What will be will be, but it’s a significant sanction. As I said before, it’s behaviour that’s not acceptable. Izak has admitted that, (and the) Adelaide Crows have come out and made a statement about that, and I think that’s the important part here.”
Last year, Wil Powell got five matches (for the same incident) – did he have the same ability to respond and submit like the Crows did?
“There’s a provisional determination, and there’s an ability to make submissions in relation to those provisional determinations.”
Do you understand that the average footy fan might be watching this saying it feels like there might be a cloak of secrecy if we throw in “significant medical submissions” that we can reduce a ban?
“We look at all the circumstances around each of those incidents, and they are in a range. I think the important thing is that one incident is one too many, and we’ve had multiple. I don’t want to be in a position where we can compare these going forward, and I think that’s the bit that we want to focus on.”
Given that you’ve had so many (incidents of this nature), are you worried that the message isn’t getting through to the players?
“I think what we have to do is continue to educate the players, continue to work with the playing group on this. Players get taunted, players get provoked, but there is a line, and that line has been crossed too many times.”
As the CEO of the AFL, it seems like a key pillar of yours since you’ve come into power and you’ve wanted to crack down on this. How frustrated are you over the number of incidents that there have been?
“This has been a key pillar of what the AFL has been about long before my time here. We’ve led the way on that, so it is disappointing, it’s really disappointing. It’s unacceptable, and it’s not good enough. We want to work with the playing group to eradicate it.”
Every time the AFL speaks, it talks about more education of players – how much more education have the players done in 2025 than would have been done leading into 2024?
“There are different education modules being put in place, but ultimately, I think it’s just continued awareness. As I said, it’s not good enough and it needs to stop.”
Will you have the framework in place at the start of next year?
“It’s something we’ve been working on with the players’ association. I don’t really want to be working on that though. Ultimately, wherever we end up, there will be ranges, because there will be specific circumstances in every case that will have to be taken into account.”
The community will say that this is a negotiated settlement that has lasted over a number of days – what would you say to them?
“What I would say to the footy fans is that this is something that we take very seriously. Izak is paying a significant price for behaviour that he put his hand up and said was unacceptable.”
Have you spoken to Izak?
“No, I haven’t spoken directly to him.”
On a personal level, the AFL is one of the few codes in the country that still hasn’t had an openly gay footballer come out. Are these the sorts of questions that you ask yourself when you come to solutions like that, whether we’re creating as an industry a safe enough environment on and off the field?
“I think what we do want to have is safe and inclusive environments at our clubs, at our venues and at AFL house. We will continue, and that’s something that’s really important to me, I know it’s really important to our staff, I know it’s important to our clubs and I know it’s important to our playing group. We will continue to work with our clubs and our players to make sure that our clubs and our environment are the best that they can be so that our people can be the best versions of ourselves.”
And your call for the outcome today sends that message strongly enough?
“We will have to continue to work on that, but yes. It is a significant price that Izak is paying.”
How many times can this happen before it’s a harder punishment to make sure that it’s a safe environment?
“We’ll continue to work with the players’ association. I don’t want it to happen again, and we will continue to do that.”
Does that not make an unsafe place that stands for fans that see this unfolding?
“I don’t think it’s an unsafe place. We’ve got to continue to make our environments safer and more inclusive.”
We’ve learnt in recent days that this isn’t the first time Izak has had incidents like this with Collingwood players. Did that come into consideration?
“No, it didn’t. All we can act on is what’s in front of us. It’s behaviour that’s not acceptable, Izak has owned up to that, the club have said that. It’s a significant price that he’s going to be playing.”
How much did the fact that he was provoked play into it?
“The submissions that were made by Adelaide in relation to the sanction – it was the compelling medical conditions that were important.”
