Richmond have suspended Noah Balta for the first four matches of 2025 after he was charged with assault earlier this month.
Balta was involved in an incident in Mulwala, a town on the Victoria-New South Wales border, with another man entangled in the conflict taken to hospital with lacerations to the head.
The December altercation led to Balta being charged with assault and released on conditional bail, with a court date set for January 30.
Despite being allowed to return to pre-season today, Balta's sanctions from Richmond were of zero tolerance, with his suspension ruling him out of the first month of the season, the club confirmed.
The star defender will also miss both pre-season matches and will have to undertake counseling and complete education.
Richmond CEO Shane Dunne said Balta regrets his involvement in the situation but that the club had to make a firm statement on his behaviour.
“Noah deeply regrets being involved in the incident. He has assisted the NSW Police in their investigation and he is keen to have the matter concluded as soon as possible. While the outcome of the investigation and the charge will be a matter for the Police and the Courts, both Noah and the club accept that players can't put themselves in these situations,” Dunne said.
“After thorough consideration - which included discussions with the player leadership group - we arrived at a decision that reflects the seriousness of the incident and at the same time will help Noah address this behaviour.
“The club will continue to support him through this period and our collective hope, and expectation, is that we will see the best of Noah on and off the field from this point on.”
The AFL integrity unit will also commence its proceedings after his court date to determine when Balta is allowed to play.
Balta recently signed a mammoth contract extension until the end of 2032, marking it the equal-second-longest current contract in the AFL.
Richmond's pre-season, alongside most other AFL clubs, is expected to resume in the upcoming days.
