'Unreasonable, unfair': Players body take aim at AFL over handling of GWS Wacky Wednesday saga

AFL Players Association chief executive Paul Marsh has ripped the league over its 'unreasonable' and 'unfair' handling of the GWS Wacky Wednesday saga.

On Thursday, 14 players received sanctions from the AFL over actions chief executive Andrew Dillon described as "completely unacceptable and at odds with the code's values".

In a lengthy and scathing statement released on Friday afternoon, Marsh criticised the body's investigation, the severity and inconsistencies of the sanctions, and its lack of a framework from which to decide on those punishments.

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Marsh said the AFLPA gave a "detailed submission" to the league. He acknowledged sanctions were necessary and the association had a role to play in overhauling the game's culture.

Marsh then highlighted "serious concerns" the body had with the way the AFL carried out the investigation.

"They sought to interview players without independent support, did not make relevant materials available to players as part of the interview process, and imposed unreasonable timeframes on players to respond to their proposed sanctions," he said.

"This process lacked procedural fairness, and procedural fairness is critical to ensuring integrity and confidence in AFL processes."

Josh Fahey will miss four games through suspension for his involvement, while Harvey Thomas, Toby McMullin, Cooper Hamilton, Jake Riccardi and Joe Fonti will all cop two-game bans.

Connor Idun has been hit with a $5000 fine, as have leaders Sam Taylor, Harry Perryman, Lachie Whitfield and skipper Toby Greene.

Greene was at one point facing a fine of up to $20,000. Marsh suggested that figure was dropped following submissions from them and the playing group.

"With respect to the proposed sanctions, we believed these were disproportionate, and again made without reference to any sanctioning framework. We note the AFL revised some of the sanctions in response to ours and other submissions," he said.

"The opportunity remains to develop a consistent sanctioning framework through a revised Code of Conduct that was also agreed as part of last year's CBA. This work is still to be finalised.

"The AFL industry has an opportunity to learn and improve from this and the various other issues we have dealt with in recent years. It will, however, take strong leadership, genuine collaboration across the industry, accountability, and ongoing reflection on our progress."

He was also critical of the league's "inconsistent approach to how player leaders have been dealt with as compared to the broader club leaders", and revealed the body had been pushing for a sanctioning framework to be developed.

"As an industry, we have had too many cultural issues and we have not worked hard enough to set and role model the standards expected," he said.

"This does not excuse individual choices and decisions, but they are not made in a vacuum.

"For many years, the industry has walked past this type of behaviour and accepted it as a part of footy culture, and this is the culture that we all are now responsible for. We include players, clubs, the AFL and the AFLPA in this.

"For more than 12 months, the AFLPA has been trying to work with the AFL to establish a joint committee, as agreed in last year's CBA, inclusive of players, experts and industry people to address these issues proactively and improve our industry. This is yet to happen and until we get serious about changing our culture, the industry will continue to send mixed messages that will let our fans, our players and our community down. Individual accountability is important but so is leadership that prioritises prevention, understanding and role modelling."