Australian Rules-AFL players seek clarity over "bonk ban"

Australian Football League (AFL) players are seeking clarity from the game's administrators about love in the time of coronavirus with biosecurity rules banning casual guests to their homes. The AFL’s "return to play" protocols prohibit players from having visitors other than their partner, or a friend or family member providing care for their wellbeing.

The visitations rule, dubbed the "bonk ban" by local media, has generated concern among single players as the league prepares to restart its season on June 11 after a two-month hiatus due to COVID-19. "You obviously can't have people around to your place unless you're in an intimate relationship with (them)," St Kilda Saints midfielder Jack Billings told local radio station SEN on Tuesday.

"So I think a few of our players are trying to specify what that actually means and get some clarity around it." Melbourne Demons defender Jake Lever said some of his teammates were unimpressed by the rule.

"I've got a little baby at home and I've got a wife -- so lucky for me, but the single boys, there have been a few murmurs around that they're really disappointed," he told local media. AFL Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan said last week the league had made a grading system that would rate any breach of coronavirus protocols as "intentional", "reckless" or "careless", and would apply penalties accordingly.

Collingwood Magpies president Eddie McGuire said the message to players was to "calm down a bit" to ensure the competition could restart safely. "Just keep the visitors down to a minimum,” McGuire said on local radio station Triple M.

"There’s no point going through this if randoms are coming from everywhere."

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)