A left-field story of the 2025 Brownlow Medal count, which was won by Gold Coast on-baller Matt Rowell, was the fact that Izak Rankine was still eligible for the award despite serving a four-game suspension for a homophobic slur.

Rankine missed Adelaide's finals series, but would've been available for selection if the Crows made it to the decider. The Crows bowed out in straight sets, losing to the Collingwood Magpies and Hawthorn Hawks.

However, keen onlookers noticed that the 25-year-old, when receiving votes from the umpires on Monday night, didn't have a stark red 'X' next to his name.

Rankine picked up 15 votes on the night, claiming three best-on-grounds.

But a strange loophole meant that the Crows star could have laid claims to 'Charlie' if the umpires saw it fit, despite his end-of-year suspension.

Rule 21.2(c) of the AFL regulations notes "any player who has been found guilty of a reportable offence in a home-and-away match in which Brownlow Medal votes have been cast shall be ineligible to receive the Brownlow Medal in that season".

Rankine was found guilty of conduct unbecoming, but not guilty of a reportable offence, which, as it states in the laws of the game, deems him eligible for the Brownlow Medal.
Fortunately for the AFL, it was avoided.

Ineligible Brownlow medal winners

In 1996, North Melbourne's Corey McKernan received the same number of votes as James Hird and Michael Voss but was unable to stand alongside the champions of our game.

The following season, the Western Bulldogs' Chris Grant polled more votes than any other player and was the outright winner of the Brownlow medal, but was ineligible due to a suspension, leaving St Kilda's Robert Harvey as a worthy recipient.

In slightly different circumstances, Essendon's Jobe Watson was stripped of his 2012 medal due to his part in the club's supplement saga, resulting in Richmond's Trent Cotchin and Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell being recognised as Brownlow medallists.

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