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Crows investigate training breach

May 7, 2020 6:45 pm in by

THE AFL and Adelaide are investigating a potential breach of the league’s training protocols by a group of Crows players.

The Crows have 16 players quarantining for 14 days in a Barossa Valley resort – which is temporarily closed to the public – after they returned from interstate on Monday.

AFL players are only permitted to train in pairs to ensure teams are not disadvantaged by contrasting coronavirus regulations in different states.

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The Crows said the players may have breached the rules by allegedly having a larger group, accompanied by an assistant coach who is also undergoing mandatory self-isolation, training together for part of a scheduled session on Thursday afternoon.

An AFL spokesperson confirmed it is investigating and said the league was “taking the matter very seriously”.

Crows head of football Adam Kelly said the club was investigating and liaising with the AFL.

“Players were told to complete any training in accordance with current AFL training protocols, which include not training in more than pairs and at all times maintaining social distancing while staying at the facility,” Kelly said in a statement.

“It appears this may not have happened for the entirety of a skills session and we are in the process of gathering the facts and liaising with the AFL.”

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In South Australia, it is legal to train in groups of 10 people or less but, as Victorian players are still only able to train in pairs, the AFL has restricted training sessions to pairs to maintain a level playing field.

(C) AAP 2020

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