{"id":597884,"date":"2026-04-10T12:43:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T12:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/597884\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T12:43:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T12:43:15","slug":"st-kilda-forward-guilty-over-using-anti-gay-slur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/597884\/","title":{"rendered":"St Kilda forward guilty over using anti-gay slur"},"content":{"rendered":"

St Kilda forward Lance Collard has been found guilty of using an anti-gay slur against an opponent, leaving his AFL<\/a> career hanging in the balance.<\/p>\n

While Collard will now await his sanction, the Saints have indicated they could appeal the tribunal’s decision to uphold the charge of conduct unbecoming.<\/p>\n

Collard had rejected suggestions he called his Frankston opponent a “f—-t” during a VFL match last month.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old, who was banned for six matches for using the same anti-gay word in 2024, was adamant he did not use it this time.<\/p>\n

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The marathon hearing took place on Thursday, but the tribunal panel did not reach a determination before the 5pm deadline.<\/p>\n

Deliberations resumed on Friday morning before the judgment was made public late that evening.<\/p>\n

There will next be a hearing to determine the sanction.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the AFL pressed for a 10-week suspension for Collard, rather than a 10-match suspension.<\/p>\n

“The AFL acknowledges the decision of the independent disciplinary tribunal today to uphold the charge against Lance Collard of the St Kilda Football Club following a finding that he breached AFL Rule 2.3(a) (Conduct Unbecoming) by the use of a anti-gay slur directed towards an opponent in a VFL match on March 27,” the AFL said in a statement.<\/p>\n

“A sanction hearing will now be convened to determine the sanction at a date and time to be determined.<\/p>\n

“The AFL has no tolerance for the use of anti-gay language in our game and its expectations have been made extremely clear to all of our players, including by education that all AFL and VFL players receive.”<\/p>\n

The case could drag on, with St Kilda considering their options, including a potential appeal.<\/p>\n

“St Kilda Football Club is naturally disappointed with the decision handed down by the AFL disciplinary tribunal this afternoon,” the Saints said in a statement.<\/p>\n

“The process is ongoing, with further submissions from both parties to be made on any penalty. A date for this next step is yet to be confirmed.<\/p>\n

“The club is also reviewing the tribunal’s written findings and will consider its position, including avenues of appeal. We will continue to support Lance throughout this process.<\/p>\n

“As the matter remains ongoing, the club will make no further comment at this time.”<\/p>\n

Collard insisted he said, “Come here, maggot”, to Frankston player Darby Hipwell.<\/p>\n

But Hipwell was adamant that was not the case.<\/p>\n

“He had his head up against my ear and he said the words to me, ‘Darby, you ‘f—ing f—-t’,” Hipwell said.<\/p>\n

The allegation was supported by Hipwell’s teammate Bailey Lambert.<\/p>\n

Hipwell and Collard previously played together with VFL club Sandringham when that side was St Kilda’s state-league affiliate.<\/p>\n

Collard has played 15 AFL games, after being taken by the Saints in the 2023 draft.<\/p>\n

He is already serving a two-match ban stemming from a high hit on an opponent in the same VFL match he allegedly used the anti-gay slur.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"St Kilda forward Lance Collard has been found guilty of using an anti-gay slur against an opponent, leaving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":597885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-597884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=597884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/597885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=597884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=597884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=597884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}