- Man gets monstrous ban after cowardly punch to former AFL player
- Jason Cloke was rushed to hospital after the ugly incident
- His legendary father, the Magpies and Tigers, took a swipe at the hit
A Queensland footballer accused of punching former AFL player Jason Cloke last week has been banned from the Queensland Masters competition for 26 games.
The man appeared in court on Wednesday night and was given a 20-game suspension for elbowing Cloke to the ground, as well as a six-game suspension for another foul incident.
Queensland Police are investigating the incident. Cloke was rushed to Pindara Private Hospital on the Gold Coast, where he spent the night and underwent a CT scan.
Cloke posted images and footage of the hit and his hospital stay on Instagram, along with the caption: ‘A lot of people asked why I was in hospital. Watch the next video.’
The attack on the 42-year-old player during an AFL Masters match for over-35s on Saturday sparked fury from Cloke’s father and football legend David, who described the league as “flabbergasted” after the incident.
Jason Cloke was captain of the Broadbeach Cats when they got into a physical altercation with the Burleigh Bombers.
As the teams divided, it appeared that one of the Bombers players suddenly turned and elbowed an unsuspecting Cloke in the face, causing him to fall hard to the ground and lie sprawled on the grass.
David Cloke, whose fellow AFL star son Cameron was seriously injured when he took a cowardly punch during a match in Victoria last year, lashed out angrily on Sunday.
Jason Cloke (pictured playing for Collingwood in 2003) was taken to hospital and remained overnight after appearing to be struck by an elbow
Video footage showed the player in the red 22 shirt allegedly striking Cloke’s head with his elbow (pictured) as a brawl broke up
“Nothing was done last time when it happened to Cameron. The league did nothing. The player is playing again this year,” he told News Corp.
“It’s lame as a dick. The AFL is lame as a dick.
‘These people should be banned, never to play again. But the AFL does nothing about it.
‘Why do you think most AFL footballers, once they retire, don’t want to play football anymore?
“I have a nine-year-old granddaughter who plays soccer. I don’t want her to play anymore. This is absolute bullshit.”
David Cloke made a total of 333 First Division appearances for Richmond and the Magpies in a distinguished career which lasted from 1974 to 1991.
Cloke, 42, played 76 games for the Collingwood Magpies between 2002-2006
Last May, former Carlton, Magpies and Power star Cameron Cloke was injured in an incident caught on camera as Templestowe’s Eastern Football League match against Boronia was about to kick off in Melbourne.
It appeared he was hit in the head by an opponent as he prepared for the opening punch.
Cloke did not play any more games after the incident and went to the hospital, complaining of headaches and insomnia.
“I’ve had two bad concussions this year, so I won’t be playing again this year. I’m going to focus on coaching and my kids,” he said afterward.
“I can’t have my kids — I have a two-year-old, a four-year-old and a nine-year-old stepson — and I can’t let them see me the way I did on the weekend.”