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SEN • May 13th, 2025 6:20 pm
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon has come to the defence of the league surrounding the sanction handed down to Willie Rioli.
The league initially handed Rioli no sanction after reports suggested the Port Adelaide forward had sent a text message to a Bulldogs player which threatened the safety of Bailey Dale.
But with two further incidents of alleged threatening behaviour from Rioli being reported in the aftermath of the AFL’s initial statement on the matter, the league took almost three full days to make any comment.
Evntually, the AFL suspended Rioli for one week, while also enrolling the 29-year-old in education for non-violent language and conduct.
Speaking in a press conference today, Dillon defended the AFL's stance on the issue.
“We made decisions based on the information we had and in Willie’s instance there was both an on field and off field part to what happened so that’s where we landed,” Dillon said.
“We pardoned him earlier in the week without the knowledge of the previous incidents and when all that information came to light we laid down a new decision.
“We don’t react to media criticism, if we did that we would be changing our mind every single day, what we do is make decisions based on what we have and do that to the best of our ability.
"It’s our clubs, it’s our players, it’s our coaches, it’s an all of industry approach that we’re going to need to continue to make an environment that’s the best it can be for all the men and women that play the game.
“I hope when Willie is back on the field he gets the ability to show the talent that he has, but also gets the benefit of the hard work he’s done."
Rioli is expected to return to football this week, as Port Adelaide host Geelong on Saturday afternoon.
