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Fremantle players Luke Ryan and Jason Carter have escaped police prosecution but have been fined by their AFL club for their involvement in a house party.
Ryan and first-year player Michael Frederick attended the gathering at the home Carter shares with his partner.
Ryan and Carter have been fined $3000 (with $2000 suspended) and will be required to undertake yet-to-be-determined community service.
Frederick was not sanctioned given he was only at the private residence for a short time and was unaware that other people would be attending.
The trio appeared in a video that was posted to social media while coronavirus restrictions were in place.
Seven people are seen in the video, which was reportedly filmed in Perth on Sunday night.
Western Australia had restricted gatherings to two people until Monday, when the limit was raised to ten people.
A police investigation was launched on Wednesday but was short-lived with Police Commissioner Chris Dawson calling Fremantle chief executive Simon Garlick on Thursday morning.
“I’ve just told Simon that the police are not going to be dealing with this any further,” Dawson told 6PR.
“I’m not having a crack at the media but it’s a bit instructive that these people are high-profile footballers.
“I’m not going to waste valuable police time, we’ve made an assessment, there’s nothing to see here in terms of any breach.”
Garlick said the club was disappointed in the player’s actions.
“Even though the gathering technically met the private residence requirements of one person per four square metres, the players acted contrary to the 1.5-metre social distancing advice the rest of the community has been following,” he said.
“We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard, regardless of the outcome of the police investigation.
“The wider community is doing a great job in helping to flatten the curve to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and we have to uphold our end of the bargain.
“The AFL and all clubs are also doing everything possible to get the season underway again, and part of being able to play games is demonstrating we can adhere to the protocols which everyone else in the community is required to follow.”
Garlick said the players were sanctioned in consultation with the player leadership group.
“There is a lot at stake regarding the resumption of the season and this should serve as a timely reminder for all of our players to ensure we have 100 per cent compliance with social distancing guidelines,” he said.
“Our players are not entitled to any dispensation or feel in any way that they can act outside how everyone else in the community is required to behave.”
Ryan, 24, emerged as an important intercept defender for Fremantle last year and played his 50th AFL game in Round 1 this year before the season was put on hold because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Carter, 20, has played only two senior games, and 19-year-old Frederick is yet to make his AFL debut after being drafted last November.
© AAP
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