AFL diversity manager Ali Fahour has stood down from his job after being suspended for 14 matches from his local football league.

Fahour was playing for West Preston-Lakeside in the Northern Football League on Saturday when he punched and subsequently knocked Whittlesea defender Dale Saddington unconscious.

His 14-week suspension triggers a lifetime ban from all football.

“On the basis of the seriousness of the charge and the tribunal sanction, I’ll be standing down from my position at the AFL,” Fahour said after the Northern Football League tribunal hearing on Wednesday night.

“In this time I’ll seek professional help for my behaviours.”

Fahour – who has been suspended for a total of 21 matches – cannot play or officiate in any future football matches at any level, after he accumulated more than 16 matches worth of suspension.

Watch the incident below:

This is the moment AFL diversity manager Ali Fahour punches an opponent in a northern football league game on Saturday.

Horrendous. pic.twitter.com/LtVgj2wFLH

— Sam McClure (@sam_mcclure) July 3, 2017

After the hearing Fahour expressed his love for the game.

“I’ve played this game for 29 years. It has given me everything,” he said.

“I have loved working for the AFL and running programs that have reached out to communities far and wide.

“AFL is the greatest game and I’m forever grateful for the role it has played in my life.

“I want to thank all those who have offered me support over the past 10 years. I won’t be making any further comment.”

Northern Football League CEO Peter McDougal said the league would not condone this sort of violence, whether it be on or off the field.

“The league is determined to be a leader in our community by encouraging our clubs and our stakeholders to take a stance when it comes to issues relating to violence,” he said.

The AFL is expected to comment on the case after the league’s executive meeting on Thursday.

Hours before the tribunal hearing, fresh footage emerged of another incident earlier this season which saw Fahour sent from the field.

The video shows Fahour striking an unsuspecting player with an elbow off the ball.

Watch the separate incident below:

SECOND STRIKE: New vision of another Ali Fahour attack prompts calls for the AFL to slap him a life ban. #TenNewshttps://t.co/H93KNplbHS pic.twitter.com/lVrmPvFKqx

— TEN Eyewitness News (@channeltennews) July 4, 2017

On Monday, an emotional Fahour apologised for his actions and said he would plead guilty at the tribunal.

“I’m deeply ashamed of my actions. There is no explanation or excuse,” Fahour said.

“I accept that at no time is this kind of action acceptable on the football field or anywhere else.”

His punch also came one week after he gave Richmond’s Bachar Houli a reference for his AFL tribunal case.

The Tigers backman said in a statement on his Facebook page on Wednesday that while he didn’t condone Fahour’s action, he was “a person of the highest character” and one he would “trust my life with”.

-with AAP/ABC