Former Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has taken a swipe at the chair of the independent panel investigating allegations of racism at the AFL club.
Clarkson and fellow former coaches Chris Fagan and Jason Burt are yet to be interviewed by the independent panel looking into the allegations.
The investigation has stalled amid disagreement about whether the coaches should have access to documents potentially containing personal information.
The chair of the panel investigating the claims, Bernard Quinn KC, released a statement last night detailing the progress of the investigation.
He said "significant progress" had been made, but the review had reached an impasse over access to documents submitted by First Nations players.
Clarkson, who is now head coach at North Melbourne, said he had concerns he and his fellow former Hawthorn coaches would not get a fair hearing.
"When the guy who's heading up the actual process violates the very confidentiality he said that we should all abide by, how can we trust that that process is going to be fair?" he said.
"Heaven forbid. Where's this going?
"Not to get the platform for eight months to be able to address this is really, really challenging and frustrating. We’re still hopeful though that that will transpire."
Clarkson accused the panel of "goalpost change" during the course of its review, which was announced in September last year.
"We have to somehow claw our reputations back through this process and all we want is a fair platform to be able to do that. Once we get that opportunity, let the judge decide," he said.
Mr Quinn was invited to respond to Mr Clarkson's statements but declined to comment further.
Chair urges resolution of 'issues between participants'
Clarkson, Fagan and Burt have refused to be interviewed until they see the documents submitted by First Nations players and consider their response to any allegations related to them.
All three deny any allegation of racism.
However, the families at the centre of the racism complaints said the documents contained personal, sensitive and private information and they did not want them passed on.
Mr Quinn said the families believed handing over the documents would hurt their prospects of a successful mediation.
He said he was hopeful there was a way forward for those involved in the investigation.
"The panel sincerely hopes a mediation of the matters presently being investigated can lead to a resolution of issues between participants," Mr Quinn said.
"The panel has encouraged participants to approach the proposed mediation with an open mind, with cultural sensitivity and in the spirit of conciliation."
Mr Quinn said no specific conditions had been placed on those invited to take part in mediation, which he said was "contrary to media reporting".
A Hawthorn Football Club spokesperson said the club "continues to cooperate fully with the AFL and the independent panel while the investigation continues".
"We completely understand that this process, and the speed at which it has been conducted, has been frustrating for everyone involved," they said.
"We, like everyone, want to see this matter resolved fairly and quickly in the best interests of all.
"At every step of this process the club has complied with our obligations under AFL integrity rules and confidentiality arrangements."
The panel proposed to appoint barrister Kate Eastman SC and former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner Mick Gooda as co-mediators.
