AFL star Daniel Rioli has arrived at the Richmond Tigers’ training ground with a visible black eye just days after he and teammate Shai Bolton got into a nightclub fracas that injured both of them.
Riolo, 24, needed two stiches after being punched in the face while Bolton, 22, suffered a broken wrist following the brawl at Club YoYo in Melbourne’s CBD on Saturday night.
The scuffle was sparked after Rioli’s DJ girlfriend Paris Lawrence was subjected to offensive comments from another club-goer.
Rioli on Thursday arrived at the Tigers’ Punt Road training ground sporting a band-aid on his right cheek, a New York Yankees baseball bat and a Country Road sweater.
His arrival at the training ground – where he was met by waiting TV crews – came amid reports the AFL is ‘sceptical’ of the players’ version of events and an eyewitness gave their own account of the fight.
AFL star Daniel Rioli pictured arriving at the Richmond Tigers’ Punt Road training ground. On Saturday night, he and teammate Shai Bolton got into a nightclub fracas that injured both of them
Sporting a shiner: Rioli on Thursday arrived at the Tigers’ Punt Road training ground sporting a band-aid on his right cheek
The league’s integrity unit is said to be concerned about the length of time between the brawl occurring and league officials being informed about the fight, 7News reported.
Eyewitnesses meanwhile have claimed Rioli and Bolton were evicted from the club and stayed outside for the next 30 minutes.
The witnesses have also claimed Rioli argued with a security guard and Bolton repeatedly tried to re-enter the club.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Richmond Tigers for comment.
Geelong great and AFL Players Association chief Patrick Dangerfield on Wednesday said the fight was not surprising because the league’s stars are ‘always dealing with d***heads’ trying to get a rise out of them.
‘The challenges are, especially when you go out and you are letting your hair down after a stressful week, is that you are dealing with d**kheads that pull out their phones at a nightclub and are just trying to film something to put on social media,’ Dangerfield told SEN Radio on Wednesday.
‘We have to treat our players like adults and they have to be able to go out and enjoy themselves, but you do deal with members of the general public that are out there for nothing but trouble.’
Richmond Tigers chief executive Brendon Gale on Tuesday morning said the incident was something he wished the club did not have to deal with.
The scuffle was sparked after Rioli’s girlfriend Paris Lawrence was subject to the inappropriate behaviour of an unknown man. The couple are pictured together
‘At the end of the day, Daniel and Shai responded to what they deemed to be inappropriate conduct,’ Gale told SEN’s Breakfast program.
‘They took what steps were necessary, we’d rather they didn’t, we’d prefer they didn’t but they did.
‘They’re young men and sometimes you can’t put old heads on young shoulders.
‘They took steps for what they deemed to be (appropriate) when you want to look after your partner, you want to look after your friends, but as hard as it is… we’d prefer them [to] just walk away.’
Richmond Tigers chief executive Brendon Gale on Tuesday morning said the incident was something he wished the club did not have to deal with
Mr Gale said he understood why the pair acted the way they did, but the club did not condone their behaviour or any form of violence.
‘I’m encouraged by the fact they’re looking after each other, they’re looking after their partners, they’re looking after their friends and I’m encouraged by that and of course we understand that,’ he said.
‘But I guess it’s regrettable that they found themselves in that position and I reckon the appropriate step, but the very difficult step, would be to simply turn a blind eye and walk away.’
Rioli confronted the stranger on Saturday night and copped a fist to the face, which required two stitches under the eye.
Bolton’s wrist was injured in the melee after he stepped in to back-up Rioli. He is pictured with his girlfriend Hasina
Rioli (left) was punched in the face and Bolton (right) suffered a broken wrist following the physical altercation at Club YoYo in Melbourne’s CBD on Saturday. The pair are pictured together in August 2020
Bolton’s wrist was fractured in the melee after he stepped in to back-up Rioli. He will need surgery and be sidelined for the next two to three weeks.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick defended the two star players on Monday night.
‘A player’s partner was put in an inappropriate situation that she didn’t feel comfortable with and Daniel stood up and tried to eradicate the situation and was punched in the eye,’ he told Fox Footy.
‘I don’t condone violence but the reality is, you put anyone in that situation, they’re going to stand up for their partner and their mates and Shai was the same.
‘So, look, it was a difficult situation. It’s not one ideally we want to be in but the reality is we are where we are.’
Hardwick said football bosses Tim Livingstone and Blair Hartley spoke at length with Bolton and Rioli and the Tigers were ‘absolutely’ confident there was no wrongdoing on their behalf.
Rioli (pictured with Ms Lawrence) was seen at training on Tuesday with bruising to his right eye
‘We’ve got to the bottom of it – the evidence we’ve got and the story we have. So from our point of view, we back in the players,’ he said.
‘We’re disappointed it came to that situation, we don’t condone violence, but we understand these situations happen from time to time – though it doesn’t make it right.’
Hardwick said though the duo were entitled to ‘live a life’, the incident was a reminder to AFL players they had to be careful.
Bolton’s injury comes at a terrible time for the Tigers, with key running players Trent Cotchin, Shane Edwards, Dion Prestia and Kane Lambert all on the sidelines, with Hardwick describing Richmond’s midfield as ‘obliterated’.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick (pictured) defended the two star players on Monday night
Two-time premiership player Bolton has averaged 21.8 disposals and more than a goal a game this season, including six goals across his past two outings, and had just taken an early contender for Mark of the Year the previous night.
Bolton is out of contract at season’s end and was expected to command a new contract north of $700,000 per season as other clubs circle, but the nightclub incident may cool the interest of potential suitors.
Rioli started dating Lawrence, a DJ and TikTok sensation, earlier this year following his split from Mia Fevola.
Rioli started dating Lawrence, a DJ and TikTok sensation, earlier this year following his split from Mia Fevola
Lawrence has more than 28,000 Instagram followers, and is managed by the same team as DJ Havana Brown.
Fevola, the stepdaughter of AFL legend Brendan Fevola, previously said she is still ‘really good friends’ with Rioli.
The 21-year-old confirmed her split from Rioli in February 2020 after two years of dating.
‘Daniel and I are no longer together; however, we still love and care for each other very much and remain the best of friends,’ she wrote on Instagram at the time.