Gay footy players reveal how they want Jeremy Finlayson punished for his homophobic slur

Two openly gay footballers have called on the AFL to fine and suspend Port Adelaide's Jeremy Finlayson following the homophobic slur he uttered to an Essendon player during Gather Round.

It comes as Port Adelaide chairman David Koch has been blasted for his response to the issue.

Finlayson, 28, is still awaiting his punishment from the AFL's Integrity Unit as they continue to investigate the slur.

CEO Andrew Dillon confirmed on Monday that the punishment will be handed down before this week's matches begin on Thursday.

The footy star's slur was picked up by an umpire's microphone at Adelaide Oval on Friday night, with Essendon players also calling it out. 

A contrite Finlayson informed the club at three-quarter-time that he had used the slur - then apologised to the player at fulltime.

Jason Ball - a former amateur footballer in Victoria who came out publicly in 2012 - said Finlayson's slur was another example of why 'no male AFL player has felt comfortable to come out'.

'This incident must be dealt with in the same way the AFL would with a racist slur,' he told News Corp.

'Both [racism and gay slurs] are harmful to people and harmful to our game. We need to see education for players and coaches and we need to see proactive campaigns to stamp out homophobic language whether on the field or in the stands, at the elite level and at the grassroots.'

Michael O'Donnell, who plays for UNSW's Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs in Sydney and is openly gay, said local-level football clubs have been incredibly inclusive of his sexuality.

He also found Finlayson's slur 'incredibly disappointing.'

'I think it is an opportunity for the AFL to show this is no longer acceptable in football, it is not like it was 20 to 25 years ago when these sort of comments were far more commonplace,' he said.

Meanwhile, on April 7, Koch appeared on the ABC's Offsiders program and left some footy fans furious when he was asked about the severity of the punishment the league could hand down to Finlayson.

He referred to the case of North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson, who was fined $20,000 and given a suspended two-match ban for allegedly using the word 'c**ks***er' in a heated exchange with two St Kilda players during the preseason.

'If you look at comparisons, and benchmarks have got to be set, with a 55-year-old coach, premeditated, target the player, walk up to them, it is very different to a player in the heat of battle, when there was a lot of niggle in the game, the pressure - again, absolutely no excuse, not condoning it,' Koch said.

'But if you're going to look at a comparison, that [Clarkson's penalty] would be the benchmark.'

The former Sunrise host was then asked if he thought it was in the same category as Crows star Taylor Walker's on-field racial slur from 2021, which saw him banned for six games and fined $20,000.

'I don't think that's realistic... I think the benchmark has already been set [with the Clarkson incident].'

Footy fans slammed Koch, accusing him of trying to excuse Finlayson's actions by saying he, like Clarkson, didn't deserve to miss any matches.

'Yeah nah @kochie_online. A slur is a slur is a slur. You say you don't condone a player using a homophobic slur on the field and that there's no excuse but in the same sentence practically excuse it by saing it occurred 'in the heat of battle' and a 'niggle'. So disappointing,' wrote Aussie actor Matthew Backer.

'Absolutely ludicrous take by David Koch here,' another commenter wrote.

'David Koch: Homophobia is OK, but racism is not,' added a third.

'Imagine if the roles were reversed @kochie_online would want the player suspended,' one fan predicted, with another adding: 'David Koch being a hypocrite when one of his team's players are affected?!? Shocker.'

'This is pretty disgusting from Koch,' wrote journalist Greg Jericho.

'It's appalling & sends a wrong message to others that there's differing levels of homophobic slurs & this one should be regarded as less. There should be zero excuses for any player, coach, official, crowd member, anyone for that matter, who chooses to slur others. Koch is wrong,' another fan said.

'No men's AFL player has ever been OPENLY gay whilst playing in a top squad. Not one. Not ever. Statistically it's nonsense that there's no gay men in AFL. Attitudes like Koch's are why they're all in the closet,' said another.

Finlayson has since expressed remorse for his conduct.

'I knew straight away that it was not acceptable and I take full responsibility,' he said.

'I addressed it at the time and.....let everyone know what happened, and it's now in the hands of the AFL to investigate.

'I'm continuing to reflect and improve myself, getting all the education I can to make myself better.'