Adelaide Crows star Izak Rankine has been suspended for four matches for using a homophobic slur against a Collingwood player during last weekend’s AFL match at Adelaide Oval.
The ban means Rankine would only be available for this year’s grand final if the Crows lost their first final but subsequently won through.
In a statement, the AFL said its integrity unit had found Rankine had used “a highly offensive homophobic slur against a Collingwood opponent — language that demeans and denigrates people regardless of their sexuality”.
“Following an investigation and submissions from Adelaide and Rankine including compelling medical submissions, Rankine has received a four-match sanction and has been ordered to undertake further Pride In Sport training,” the AFL said.Teammate says Rankine ‘remorseful’ ahead of outcome
The AFL said Rankine had been found guilty of breaching its rules relating to conduct, and that the incident occurred during the final quarter of the Crows’ win over the Magpies on Saturday night.
The league said Rankine rang the Collingwood player in question on Sunday to apologise, and that Rankine “fully cooperated” with the investigation, admitted using the slur and expressed remorse.
AFL general counsel Stephen Meade said homophobia had “no place in football”, and that both Rankine and the Crows acknowledged the remark “was not acceptable”.
“Our players have a very clear understanding of what is acceptable on the football field,” he said.
“We know people in the LGBTQI+ community and allies hurt when an incident like this happens. One incident of this nature is too many, and the fact there have been multiple this year shows we still have more work to do and we are committed to that.
“The suspension is significant, but stamping out vilification in our game is incredibly important. Everyone in football understands the rules, and there are consequences of breaching them.”
‘Mistake and I have apologised’
At a media conference, AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said the language used was “hurtful, offensive and highly inappropriate”, and that it was “called out by the players and ultimately acknowledged by Izak himself as wrong”.
“We look at the specific instances, and in this one there were submissions made including compelling medical submissions that were taken into account,” he said.
Andrew Dillon defended the league against accusations of hypocrisy. (Getty Images: Morgan Hancock)
Asked what those medical submissions were, Dillon said he was “not going to go into the detail on that”.
Dillon said Rankine’s potential eligibility for the grand final had not been a factor in the AFL’s decision, and he also defended the league against accusations of double standards over the grand final entertainment act, US rapper Snoop Dogg.
“We have engaged Snoop Dogg in 2025 as the person he is today. He has spoken publicly about his past. He has changed,” Dillon said.
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“We cannot vouch for every lyric in every song ever written or performed by any artist who has or will appear on our stage.
“But what I can say is that our pre-match entertainment on grand final day will be family-friendly and consistent with the audience.”
The suspension decision, which came after several days of hearings and deliberations, was one of the most protracted and anticipated of the season, in part because of its consequences for the Crows’ chances.
Adelaide is guaranteed a top-two finish at the end of the home-and-away season, meaning that if they were to win their qualifying final they would go straight through to a preliminary final a fortnight later.
That would leave Rankine — who has been among the Crows’ best players this season — out of contention in the event they then made it to the season decider.
In a statement, Rankine said he regretted “using the word” and that he was “very sorry for doing so”. (Getty: Matt King/AFL Photos)
But if they lost their qualifying final but won their next two games, Rankine could return for the grand final.
In a statement released by the Crows, Rankine said he regretted “using the word” and admitted it had “no place” in the game.
“It was a mistake and I have apologised to the Collingwood player, and what happened does not reflect my values or those of the club,” he said.
“I regret using the word and I am very sorry for doing so, and that type of language has no place in football or the community.
“I’m committed to educating myself and being better.”
‘Season is potentially not over’
Crows CEO Tim Silvers said the club had accepted the ban and would not appeal it, but said he was pleased there was still a chance Rankine could play again this season.
“From our end, what was said by Izak, his words and his behaviour, were unacceptable — they don’t align with his values, they don’t align with our values,” he said.
“We’d love to make it through to a grand final, [but] we’re probably not looking that far forward.
“In terms of Izak, the individual, I think it’s nice there’s a carrot for him, and that it means his season is potentially not over, and I think that is good for his mental health.”
Tim Silvers says Izak Rankine understands his behaviour was unacceptable, but the club will support him through what is a difficult time. (ABC News)
Silvers said while Rankine understood he had “put himself into this position”, he was “doing it pretty tough”.
“He basically hasn’t left his house for the last few days,” Silvers said.
“We understand he did the wrong thing, but he’s still part of our extended family and we’ll support him through this.”
While Silvers conceded the club had been “looking for some leniency in the length of the ban”, he said that was not because it was in denial about the hurtfulness of Rankine’s remark, especially for LGBTQI+ fans.
“We were looking at a slightly reduced sanction. It wasn’t that we weren’t accepting he’d done something wrong,” he said.
“We don’t stand for what was said, and we’ve got a number of our supporters and fans who are part of that community. I apologise to them. We want to have an inclusive environment which they’re part of.”
Clubs should ‘set the standard’
Rankine is the sixth AFL-listed player to be banned for using homophobic language in the past 16 months.
The penalties we issue in response to homophobia send a powerful message
While sanctions have varied, Pride Cup engagement director Caitlin Bunker said Rankine’s suspension was “pretty consistent” with what the league had previously imposed.
“Consistency really matters, whether it’s finals time or not,” Bunker said.
“The AFL said really clearly after the first incident last year that it wouldn’t be [only] three matches again, and so I’m really glad to see that they’ve stuck to their guns on that.”
Bunker said the “increased incidence” of self-reporting among players and clubs was a “positive sign” that education was working.
But she said while much of the public discussion had been around whether Rankine would or would not play finals, what really mattered were the “real world impacts”.
“It’s been a long and difficult week of deliberation, and an even longer week for the LGBTIQ community, whose value, identity and place in sport have been debated and scrutinised in ways that are obviously deeply personal,” Bunker said.
“If you are using something that is deeply personal about somebody’s identity to put someone down and put their performance down, you are doing the wrong thing and, in this day and age, players should know better.
“[But] it isn’t just about punishment and increasing punishment — we know that just targets the individual, and it really needs to shift to prevention; we need to see every club taking some responsibility to set the standard and make sure that the culture they have in their four walls doesn’t tolerate this behaviour in the first place.”