Carl Ditterich: AFL calls for star to be removed from Hall of Fame after he was charged with multiple child sexual abuse allegations

AFL chairman Richard Goyder says the league will wait for Carl Ditterich’s trial to unfold before making a call on whether to remove him from the Hall of Fame.

Rules introduced last year allow the AFL to remove the former St Kilda champion regardless of the tribunal’s outcome, but Goyder said the league would not react immediately.

Ditterich, 78, faces three counts of indecency and one count of gross indecency in the presence of a child under 16.

It is alleged that Ditterich assaulted the child in Heatherton, in Melbourne’s south-east, in 1985.

The century member of the St Kilda team was due to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday, but his lawyer Tony Hargreaves provided a letter from Bendigo Health excusing him on medical grounds.

He is due back in court on June 28 for a mandatory mention.

The former St Kilda star is next due for the starter on June 28

Goyder said on Monday the AFL would allow legal proceedings to play out before reaching a decision on Ditterich’s place in the Hall of Fame.

‘We only found out on Friday. There is a legal process that will unfold, he said Monday.

“Obviously, we made changes last year at the commission level to how we handle those kinds of circumstances and when there’s a finding, so we’re waiting for that legal process to unfold and then we’ll determine if there are any actions.”

The AFL Commission amended its Hall of Fame charter last June to allow it to revoke or suspend the membership of former players who have been charged with or found guilty of a criminal offence.

The move came after Hall of Fame legend Barry Cable was found guilty of repeatedly sexually assaulting a young girl during his career.

The former footy star faces three counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency in the presence of a child under 16

That means the league can revoke Ditterich’s membership even if he is found innocent in court.

Hall of Fame inductees could also be removed under the new rules if they engaged in conduct the commission determined could “bring the AFL, the Hall of Fame inductee, any AFL club or Australian rules football into disrepute”.

When the AFL removed Cable from the Hall of Fame, Goyder said the AFL had no option but to respond to the ‘appalling’ results of the civil trial against him.

“(The) civil case and Judge Herron’s findings make it very clear that under the rules that we adopted … with respect to the Hall of Fame, that this is the right thing to do,” Goyder said last year.

‘Our thoughts go out to the woman involved and others who were brave enough to come forward in the civil case and air the issues that arose in their lives.’