This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The AFL’s diversity manager, Ali Fahour, has accepted an initial two-match ban and said he is “ashamed” after punching an opponent during a local Australian rules football match in Melbourne over the weekend.

Fahour faced the media on Monday after video footage emerged of him hitting a Whittlesea player, earning him a red card, in West Preston-Lakeside’s Northern Football League game on Saturday.

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“I am deeply ashamed of my actions,” Fahour said in a prepared statement. “There is no explanation or excuse. I accept that at no time, is this kind of action acceptable on the football field or anywhere else.”

The NFL will sit on Wednesday to determine any further sanctions. It is not yet clear his if employer, the AFL, will take any action.

“I will ... make a formal apology to the Northern Football League, [victim] Dale Saddington the Whittlesea Football Club and my team-mates,” he said. “I will fully accept the outcomes of the tribunal.”

Fahour is the AFL’s head of multicultural and Indigenous programs and last week provided a character reference for Richmond defender Bachar Houli in his AFL tribunal case.

Houli’s references helped secure him a lenient two-game ban for striking Carlton opponent Jed Lamb but the AFL launched a historic appeal and Houli’s penalty was doubled.

“I understand that my actions reflect on my employer the AFL and the programs that I oversee,” Fahour said. “The AFL’s work in the community is so important.

“And I am extremely sorry that my actions take away from that work and I’ve spoken with my manager at the AFL and they will not make any comment prior to the hearing on Wednesday night.”