Three men charged over an alleged attack on former Kangaroos captain Jack Ziebell just hours after his final match have been named in court.
Ibrahim Behluli, 21, Abdul Karim, 29, and Masihullah Rawani, 27, were scheduled to face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday but the case was administratively adjourned and they were excused from appearing.
However, court documents released to the media reveal each man is accused of participating in the alleged violent attack, which put Mr Ziebell in hospital in the early hours of August 20.
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They have each been charged with committing affray by using unlawful violence, while Mr Behluli is facing additional charges of intentionally causing injury to Mr Ziebell and unlawful assault by kicking.
The trio will return to court at a later date.
According to the North Melbourne Football Club, Mr Ziebell was celebrating his retirement at The Osborne Rooftop & Bar with teammates and staff when he was allegedly set upon in an “unprovoked attack”.
At the time, a Victoria Police spokesman said the 32-year-old was punched in the face outside the South Yarra venue, fell onto the road then was kicked.
The North Melbourne stalwart, who played 280 games over 14 years at the club, spent the night in hospital with facial and head injuries that required surgery.
A month after the alleged attack, Mr Ziebell said he believed he was in the “wrong place at the wrong time”.
“It wasn’t the ideal way to start retirement but, in saying that, it could have been a lot worse,” he told ABC Grandstand.
“Fortunately, I’ve healed up and will make a full recovery.
“I had surgery to fix up my nose after it happened, but then I’ll probably need to go back in another 18 months to get it done again, so there’s some lingering effects which aren’t great.
“But, as I said, I’m lucky to be here.”
Last week, Richmond Football Club announced they had enlisted Mr Ziebell to join their coaching ranks for 2024.
“Jack is a high character leader who has had 15 years experience at the top level,” Richmond general manager for football performance Tim Livingstone said.
“He’s a driven professional who has spent the last part of his career developing his leadership skills with the ambition to take on a coaching role.”
