Fallout far-reaching for Australian Rules after latest scandal

Fallout far-reaching for Australian Rules after latest scandal

Tracing its roots to 1858, the Australian Football League (AFL) is the nation's most-watched spectator sport and a cornerstone of cultural life for many Australians. Players are held to high standards as role models, and their off-field behaviour is as highly scrutinised as their on-field antics. While massively popular, the hyper-masculine sport has long been scarred by what the Melbourne Age newspaper called "a dark underbelly", with repeated …

Australian Rules faces far-reaching fallout from latest scandal

SYDNEY - An alcohol-fuelled scandal swirling around a top Australian Rules team has been splashed across newspaper front pages as much as the back and triggered broader debate, a sign of the sport’s importance in the country’s social fabric.