Wil Powell: Shock twist in footy star’s homophobic slur scandal as damning new evidence comes to light after he copped huge ban

Wil Powell apparently used homophobic language on social media before abusing a rival last Sunday after Instagram screenshots came to light.

Gold Coast Suns star Powell, 24, was handed a five-match ban after calling a rival Brisbane player a ‘f****t’ during his side’s defeat this weekend, highlighting footy’s problem with homophobia further emphasized.

Powell follows Jeremy Finlayson on the sidelines as the Port Adelaide star uses the same slur in a match against Essendon.

And according to the Sydney Morning Herald, Powell is accused of using homophobic language in the Instagram photos of a former fringe player.

The comments were posted about three years ago, with the relationship between Powell and the player unclear and whether the comments were made in jest.

Some comments included “probably lost because you’re gay,” “you can’t gay surf,” “gay,” and “pink looks good on you.”

Powell asked for forgiveness for the comment during Sunday’s game and vowed to educate himself better.

The Suns declined to officially comment to the Sydney Morning Herald on the online posts, but said the language used would form the basis of his education against homophobia.

Meanwhile, Ian Roberts – rugby league’s first player to come out as gay – believes the AFL has a problem with homophobic attitudes.

“Education at an early age is the greatest sword and shield in dealing with these kinds of things,” he said.

‘With grown men the battle is over. Grassroots stuff is what’s important. The AFL and the major codes should invest in primary education if they really want to solve this. That’s where it should start: education, education, education.

“It never occurs to me to call someone a ‘f—-,'” Roberts said. ‘When people say that word, they don’t just say it, they spit it out.

‘It’s the height of insults. You’re trying to demoralize someone. It puts a person off that you are nothing, I’m going to rub you under my foot.

‘It’s bigger than the incident. What I mean by that, I can promise you this: There will be a child in the suburbs in the regional areas who may not have heard many stories in the last few weeks, but they certainly heard that story.

“When they’re struggling with their sexuality and identity, and they don’t understand what they’re going through, it reinforces all the fear they’re feeling.

‘I am there [at Qtopia] because I believe in education, education, education to set this in motion and the catastrophic consequences for what discrimination can do to people, what it looks like and how it can manifest itself.”