Willie Rioli to miss Port Adelaide's Showdown clash as AFL hands down ban for alleged physical threats

Willie Rioli has been hit with a one-match suspension by the AFL after his alleged threat to Bulldog Bailey Dale following Port's loss in Ballarat in round eight.

Rioli allegedly sent a message via a Dogs teammate suggesting Dale tread carefully in Darwin in round nine as Rioli has friends who live there.

The AFL said in a statement that Dale received an apology and as such did not seek any further action against Rioli.

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The AFL initially made the call to not punish the forward for the incident, a decision that was not received well publicly.

However, in the time since that decision, second and third threatening incidents have been alleged, with The Age reporting a Geelong player was left 'distressed' following an interaction with Rioli in 2024.

Nine chief AFL reporter Tom Morris then revealed an alleged third incident involving an Essendon player this year.

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"The third situation where Willie Rioli had a crack at an opposition player in a way that teammates of that opposition player could not believe, and it was similarly threatening, was against Essendon earlier this year," Morris told Nine's Footy Classified on Tuesday night.

"So Essendon earlier this year, Geelong last year, and then via social media against the Western Bulldogs in the last few days."

The AFL has since investigated those incidents with Rioli making admissions in relation to his conduct.

As a result, Rioli has been banned for this weekend's Showdown clash and will participate in education on respectful/non-violent language and conduct.

Speaking before the AFL's judgement, Port Adelaide chairman David Koch said people need to factor in the racist abuse Rioli deals with when considering how he should be punished.

"This is what we deal with in the club that people don't understand," Koch began on FiveAA.

"We have the highest representation of indigenous players of any club and have always had that. It's a really important part of our DNA as a club.

"You've got absolutely no idea what they go through, both on-field and off-field. The threats we receive as a club against our Indigenous players would just horrify you, and we see a responsibility to protect them in that situation as well.

"It's a build up of pressure and abuse that they've received and every individual handles that differently and that's what we've got to take into account.

"There's no excusing that and don't get me wrong, but we have a duty to support the players and turn a bit of attention on to what society is doing to these players."

Wide World of Sports does not suggest that any player involved in one of the three alleged incidents engaged in racist conduct towards Rioli.