Talking Footy

Fevola barman to press charges
Jane Holroyd
November 1, 2006




Brendan Fevola was put on a Dublin-bound train at the Galway train station to begin his journey home.


The Irish barman put in a headlock by Carlton player Brendan Fevola says he wants to pursue assault charges against the Coleman medallist.

The barman, known only as Paul, said he was also struck in the face by Fevola who was in Galway for the international rules series between Ireland and Australia.

Another staff member told theage.com.au the group of Australian players were "very drunk" upon arrival and one unnamed player vomited in the bar area.
Galway police are currently examining CCTV footage of the incident, which took place at the Imperial Hotel early on Sunday evening (local time).

A police spokesman said a report was being prepared for the local Director of Public Prosecutions and no charges had yet been laid against Fevola, who left Ireland for London yesterday.


He is expected to arrive back in Australia tomorrow.

The barman said Fevola had become aggravated when he was refused more alcohol and had followed him to the hotel reception where Paul attempted to call police.

"He grabbed me into a headlock and pulled me out of reception," Paul told Southern Cross radio.

"He had a bottle in his hand so I was just worried about the bottle."

Paul said another barman then attempted to wrestle the bottle from Fevola's hand, forcing him to release it. "He swung and hit me in the cheek."

"He didn't punch me ... with full contact. If he did I wouldn't be talking to you right now ... It was enough to bruise (me)."

Paul said Australian team coach Kevin Sheedy and two other AFL representatives had apologised personally over the incident after seeing the CCTV footage.

A hotel staff member who was working at reception at the time of the incident said there were about 15 Australian players in the bar at the time.

The woman, who only wanted to use her first name Sharyn, said most of the players were drunk and rowdy when they arrived about 6pm.

"A lot of them were very drunk but they weren't causing that much trouble," Sharyn told theage.com.au.

"They were just being loud really and the residents were complaining about them."

Sharyn said one of the players (not Fevola) vomited.

"One of them got sick in the actual bar."

She said Fevola followed the barman out to reception about an hour after the Australians had arrived.

"He was a very big player. We didn't actually know that he was a rugby player at the time."

"He just came straight for the desk. He was carrying a bottle in his hand at the same time."

"Another barman had to help Paul. He took the bottle out of Brendan's hand - that was while (Paul) was in the headlock."

Sharyn said three Australian players then helped restrain Fevola.

She said Paul was now on holiday and would not return to the bar for at least a week.

"I don't have anything against (Fevola)," she said. "I think he just had a bit too much to drink that night."

Local journalist Brian McDonald told theage.com.au the incident had made headlines in national newspapers.

"It's been on the local news (and) national news," said Mr McDonald who is covering the story for Irish Independent.

He said locals were impressed with how the AFL had responded.

"Your guys have acted very properly and very quickly by throwing him
off the tour," he said.

"There would be a lot of admiration for the way the matter was dealt with
by the Australians in terms of dealing with it properly... just get that guy out of here because he has not behaved himself, he has let his team down."

However Mr McDonald said he was surprised police had allowed Fevola to leave the country before the Director of Public Prosecutions had decided whether assault charges would be laid.

"The indication we had from police was that this guy had been advised not to leave Ireland until a decision had been made by our DPP."

"But as he wasn't under arrest there was nothing to stop him from
leaving the country so that's where we stand at the moment."

Mr McDonald said an announcement by the DPP was expected by tomorrow morning local time (tonight Australian time).

While Fevola has been sent home in disgrace, the rest of the Australian team will play a second and final Test against Ireland in Dublin on Sunday.

Willis 21 wrote:

Never heard of him until this week, but he is getting plenty of great publicity for the AFL's pathetic IR series isn't he...

Keep up the good work mate =D>

It looks like the other guys over ther are doing their country proud overseas as well...

Irish sledged us and were racist, Fevola claims
Samantha Lane, Newmarket-on-Fergus
November 2, 2006
http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/real ... 19160.html

BRENDAN Fevola has said that the chief reason behind his assault of a barman in Galway was the trouble he was having with the locals.

Ordered home by the AFL, and speaking before catching a flight out of Ireland on Tuesday afternoon (Dublin time), Fevola suggested that Australian players had been repeatedly targeted during the tour that is now 11 days old.

On one occasion, he said that the indigenous members of the team had been singled out.

"I think it's (a flow-on) from what happened last year in the series â€â€

AFL chief slams Fevola's 'racist' claim


Jane Holroyd
November 2, 2006 - 12:57PM


Andrew Demetriou is furious at Brendan Fevola for suggesting his assault of an Irish barman was in response to racist taunts and the AFL chief wants the Carlton spearhead to apologise to the Irish people for the accusation.

Fevola, who was dropped from the Australian international rules team touring Ireland after he allegedly assaulted a barman in Galway on Sunday, claimed he was provoked by racist comments directed at Aboriginal members of the team.

Speaking before catching a flight out of Dublin on Tuesday night (local time), Fevola told reporters the Australian team had been sledged constantly since arriving.

"Everywhere we've gone, the people have been giving us ****, and when a few of the boys were at the casino playing poker, they were sledging the Aboriginal boys ... everywhere we've gone they've just hammered us. With everything."

He also claimed the barman whom he put in a headlock at the Imperial Hotel, an incident local police are still investigating, had goaded him and his teammates.

"It was probably just a build-up from everyone giving us **** throughout the whole week," Fevola said.

There are four Aboriginal players - Chance Bateman, Aaron Davey, Graham Johncock and Danyle Pearce - touring with the Australian team.

But Andrew Demetriou, who is in Ireland with the team, was today furious upon hearing Fevola's claims.

"We've spoken to (the players) and all of them - as one - said they had not suffered any racial abuse. In fact they said they have been treated very well here," he told Southern Cross radio.

"I think it's a very unfair slur on the Irish public. It's just completely untrue."
Yesterday bar staff told theage.com.au they did not know Fevola or the other Australians were football players when they arrived at the Imperial Hotel.

Mr Demetriou said it was disappointing Fevola had attempted to shift the blame for his drunken rampage, which the AFL chief labelled "dangerous, aggressive and totally unacceptable."
He said Fevola owed it to the Irish people to apologise for his comments.

However, Mr Demetriou said the AFL would not further punish the Carlton player, who this year was awarded the Coleman medal for kicking the highest number of goals.

He also said Fevola had been cleared to leave Ireland by local police, even though assault charges could yet be laid against him. He said Irish police had cleared Fevola to leave because the possible charges against him were minor.

But the barman targeted by Fevola, identified only as 'Paul', has told Southern Cross radio he is disappointed in local police.

"We can't understand why he had been left to leave the country," Paul said.

"If it was anyone else they would have been in court Monday or Wednesday morning."

"There's no jurisdiction for him to be let home. He was (potentially) on assault charges. We will be taking action on that as well."

Yesterday Paul said he would pursue charges against Fevola.

A report on the incident at the Imperial Hotel is still being prepared by police for the local Director of Public Prosecutions in Galway.

theage.com.au, with Samantha Lane

FACE of Australia model Lara Bingle last night lashed out at claims she was romantically linked to Carlton bad boy Brendan Fevola.

It was the first I'd heard of it," Bingle told the Herald Sun.

"I've met the guy once. There is no affair."

"I have not met him since I did that dance on the Footy Show.

"I would barely even know what he looks like if I saw him again.

"I'm from Sydney, an NRL girl. I don't even know what AFL players look like.

TLPG wrote:

For the record, note that there were several drunk players at the pub and a once off is not a judgment (I'm talking about all the players, not just Fevola). And nothing would have even happened if the Irish fool hadn't been a racist.

AFFP wrote:

So the Irish don't have a history of short tempers?
That wasn't good by the Fev, but his more recent **** was way worse.