UPDATE: Port Adelaide forward Jeremy Finlayson says he's 'pissed off' at himself for making a homophobic slur, not the AFL for suspending him.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Finlayson, banned three games by the AFL, says his comments on his wife's podcast have been misconstrued.
"I said "(It) pissed me off that I got a three-week suspension, that's it, that's tipped me over the edge. We'll leave it there and (at) that'," he said in a club statement on Wednesday.
"When re-thinking my comments today, it's clear that I should have provided more context.
"On reflection, I should have explained that I was bitterly disappointed that I said what I did during the game.
"And I am bitterly disappointed that I put myself and the club in the position I did.
"That is what I am most upset with.
"What I said on the field that night was totally unacceptable. I knew that at the time and I know it now.
"I stress, I have no issue with the sanction at all."
EARLIER: Port Adelaide forward Jeremy Finlayson has expressed his frustration with the three-match suspension handed to him by the AFL for making a homophobic slur against an opponent.
The former Culcairn junior is currently sidelined as he serves his ban over the in-game incident, which happened during the Power's win over Essendon in round four.
The 28-year-old apologised multiple times over the incident before he was handed his penalty last week.
But he has since vented about the sanction during an episode of his wife Kellie Finlayson's podcast, Sh!t Talkers, which was released on Tuesday.
Finlayson was speaking during a regular segment on the podcast, in which hosts and guests highlight their "good, bad and offensive" talking points for the week.
"My 'offensive' is it pissed me off that I got a three-week suspension," Finlayson said.
"That's it. That's tipped me over the edge. That's about it. We'll leave it there and (at) that and move on."
Finlayson did not elaborate, leaving it unclear which specific aspect of the suspension annoyed him.
Port ruckman Ivan Soldo said Finlayson was upset with himself.
"The sanctions were imposed but Jeremy is so remorseful for it," Soldo told reporters.
"He would probably just be more upset at himself."
Earlier this week, AFL Commission chair Richard Goyder defended the league's decision to suspend Finlayson.
Goyder's position came amid ongoing debate surrounding the discrepancy between Finlayson's penalty and the one handed to North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson.
In March, Clarkson was fined $20,000 and given a suspended two-match ban for a similar slur fired at St Kilda pair Dougal Howard and Jimmy Webster during a trial game.
The discrepancy sparked strong criticism, in particular from the AFL Players Association (AFLPA), which last week accused the league of double standards.
Port Adelaide chairman David Koch said he looked forward to the league "applying consistency to such cases in the future", while AFLPA boss Paul Marsh called for an "urgent review of the AFL's sanctioning framework".
"We believe the AFL is consistently inconsistent and there are double standards in its approach to dealing with players compared to others on behavioural matters," Marsh said last week.
"This issue highlights the lack of clarity on how the AFL handles these situations, and we want this to be the catalyst for an urgent review of the sanctioning framework.
"If this type of conduct is a three-week sanction for a player, it should be for everyone involved in the game.
"This should be clear to everyone in the industry up-front, rather than the open-ended approach that is currently in place.''
Goyder took a different view of the differences in the sanctions handed to Finlayson and Clarkson.
"I don't think there's a difference in the sense that the AFL has taken a very strong stance on that issue - and that stance is the most important thing," Goyder said on Monday.
"We'll look at the penalty ... hopefully this never happens again.
"If it does happen again, we'll look at an appropriate penalty under the circumstances.
"Both penalties were a very strong signal from the AFL that there's no place in our game for those sort of actions."