The Australian Football League has confirmed that Carlton player Brendan Fevola has been removed from the International Rules touring party and will be sent home following an incident in a Galway nightclub in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Fevola was interviewed by Gardai following a physical confrontation with a staff member in the nightclub.
Gardai have not yet decided whether they may take further action, but AFL Chief Executive Officer Andrew Demetriou said he had immediately launched a full AFL investigation and convened a meeting of the team's disciplinary committee when notified earlier today.
The disciplinary commitee - comprised of Demetriou, AFL Football Operations Manager Adrian Anderson, AFLPA Chief Executive Brendan Gale, senior coach Kevin Sheedy and captain Dustin Fletcher - determined that Fevola was guilty of unacceptable behaviour.
"The AFL has co-operated fully with local authorities immediately we were informed of an incident involving one of our players earlier this morning, and we have also conducted our own internal disciplinary hearing," Demetriou said.
The committee decided that Fevola would be suspended for next Sunday's second International Rules test against Ireland in Croke Park. The AFL will not be calling up a replacement player.
It is understood Fevola offered a full unconditional apology for his actions.
"The AFL has offered a full unconditional apology to the Galway police and the staff of the nightclub and, on behalf of the AFL, we are extremely embarrassed and disappointed that one of our players has been involved in an incident of this nature while representing the competition on an international stage," said Demetriou.
In a statement Fevola's AFL club Carlton said that while it was aware of the incident it did not have all the details and so would not be making any further comment at this time.
" We do understand the AFL Disciplinary Committee has met on this matter and understand the decision that has been made and that Brendan has apologised for his actions and will not be continuing with the team in Ireland," Carlton CEO Michael Malouf said.