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North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson has broken his silence on the Hawthorn racism saga after the terms of reference were set for the investigation late last week.
Meanwhile his former Hawthorn colleague Chris Fagan will return to his coaching duties at Brisbane from Wednesday.
A four-person panel led by lawyer Bernard Quinn KC will look into the allegations of inappropriate conduct by Clarkson, Fagan and others during their time at the Hawks in the early to mid-2010s.
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A planned end date has been set for December 2022 following the claimed poor treatment of First Nations players and their families.
Clarkson released two statements about the allegations in late September, saying he held “grave concerns” for a fair process and refuting any wrongdoing.
Returning from an overseas trip which included a week in Scotland with Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou, the four-time premiership coach spoke to Nine News at Melbourne Airport on Monday.
“It’s taken a bit of a good time to get through that (terms of reference setting). At least we’ve got a platform now from which we can get a chance to tell our side of the story,” Clarkson said
“Fages (Chris Fagan), myself and Jason (Burt, then the Hawks’ player development manager) have been through a tough time over the last four weeks but just pleased they’ve been able to identify a platform with which we can reveal some of the truth behind this, and then we’ll get on with it.”
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On Tuesday night the Lions board ticked off Fagan’s return from leave, after the ex-Hawks GM of football voluntarily stood down when the allegations first surfaced.
“The Board of the Brisbane Lions have agreed that Chris Fagan will resume head coaching duties from Wednesday, October 26, 2022,” the club said in a statement.
“This follows the release by the AFL of the Terms of Reference for the independent investigation of allegations of inappropriate conduct at the Hawthorn Football Club.
“The Board will provide Chris with any future leave required to allow him to participate in the investigation.”
Clarkson is expected to be welcomed to the Kangaroos around the time of his previously-planned November 1 start date.
Seven reported on Tuesday night the North Melbourne board had ticked off Clarkson joining the club a few weeks out from the national draft.
AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon said on Tuesday there was “at this stage” no reason why Clarkson and Fagan could not return to their clubs while the investigation continues.
“The bottom line is our most significant commitment that we need to address in the next little while is the investigation. Fages, Jason and myself always said right from the get go we’d co-operate fully with whatever the AFL puts in place,” Clarkson said.
“I just need to speak with our lawyers but also the AFL and the club. If somewhere along the line we get the opportunity to return to work then that would be great as well, but our priority is to make sure that we co-operate with the investigation.”
It is still not known whether the Hawthorn families who made the allegations will take part in the investigation.
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