A Brisbane board meeting on Tuesday night is set to finalise the return to work of Lions coach Chris Fagan, chief executive Greg Swann says.
Fagan took a leave of absence last month after allegations of racism during his time at Hawthorn were raised.
A Hawthorn review and subsequent reporting by the ABC led to a four-person independent investigation, which is due to conclude by December 22.
READ MORE: Indigenous star ‘devastated’ by netball’s $15m fiasco
READ MORE: Cricket legend fumes at controversial World Cup call
READ MORE: Kohli moved to tears after insane World Cup rescue act
Swan said on Monday afternoon that Fagan’s return to the helm was imminent.
“Now that there’s a panel been put in place and the terms of reference are there, then we don’t think there’s an impediment for Chris to come back and get back to work,” Swann said.
“He’ll still obviously comply with the panel, but it’s not too far away. We’ll discuss that tomorrow night.”
At Hawthorn between 2008 and 2016, Fagan was an assistant coach to Alastair Clarkson and general manager of football.
Fagan, Clarkson and former Hawthorn welfare manager Jason Burt are all facing allegations.
Rather than being forced, Fagan decided to take a break from his Brisbane duties.
“Initially that happened because of the seriousness of the charges and just to take a bit of the heat out of it, but now there’s a bit more clarity around what’s happening he can come back jointly with us,” Swann said.
“For those that know him, we struggle to compute he would be involved in any of that stuff.
“As it’s gone on, he’s gone through those peaks where he’s been disappointed, then he’s been angry, now he’s looking forward to getting back to work then clearing his name.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
The biggest controversies in AFL history
