North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson and Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan are participating in conciliation sessions with former players following the racism controversy at Hawthorn.
Clarkson and Fagan are attending the sessions at the Human Rights Commission in Melbourne, causing them to miss training today.
Former Hawthorn player Cyril Rioli, one of the accusers of systemic racism, flew in from Darwin to join the discussions.
This will be the first meeting between former Hawthorn coach Clarkson, ex-football boss Fagan, and the complainants since the allegations were made public via an ABC report during the 2022 grand final week.
Clarkson, Fagan, and ex-Hawks welfare boss Jason Burt have all refuted any wrongdoing.
The discussions are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, with a potential Federal Court hearing if they do not reach a resolution.
“We handle it the way we handle everything else, we just keep going on,” said North Melbourne president Sonja Hood regarding Clarkson’s absence from training.
Hood acknowledged that it would be an emotional week for Clarkson, but she believes he will be ready to coach North’s Good Friday match against Carlton.
Fagan is expected to resume coaching Brisbane on Wednesday ahead of their grand final rematch with Collingwood on Thursday.
North Melbourne’s head of football, Todd Viney, was set to oversee training in Clarkson’s absence.
Viney expressed that while the situation is not ideal for football preparations, the goal is to resolve the matter and find a resolution to the ongoing saga.
AAP/ABC
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