WARNING: This story contains details of self-harm, pregnancy loss, and intergenerational trauma for Indigenous people

Brisbane Lions head coach Chris Fagan has stood aside as the AFL begins a probe into shocking allegations from his time at Hawthorn.

The immediate future for another coach, Alistair Clarkson, is expected to become clearer on Wednesday afternoon, after both were embroiled in allegations of racism and bullying.

Earlier, the AFL said Fagan and Clarkson, the newly appointed coach at North Melbourne, would be afforded “natural justice” by an independent panel examining the racism accusations.

Fagan and Clarkson, along with former Hawks staffer Jason Burt, were named on Wednesday in an ABC report detailing historic racism allegations from some Hawthorn players. Other claims related to the Hawks’ handling of several AFL players and their families, including pregnant partners.

“Chris supports and welcomes the investigation,” Brisbane said in a statement.

“He was not consulted during the Hawthorn-sponsored review and looks forward to the opportunity to be heard as part of the AFL investigation.

“The Brisbane Lions and Chris have mutually agreed that he will take a leave of absence from the club so he can fully cooperate in the investigation.”

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AFL boss Gillon McLachlan fronted the media on Wednesday to describe the allegations as serious and distressing. He said Clarkson’s immediate future would be announced on Wednesday afternoon.

The allegations include one from a former Hawthorn player, who saidhe was told by Clarkson to terminate his partner’s pregnancy, the ABC reported.

The player said a group of coaches, including Clarkson and his then senior assistant coach Fagan, also urged him to break up with the woman and move into the home of an assistant coach, the ABC said.

Clarkson was the Hawks’ coach between 2005 and 2021 and Fagan was a senior assistant coach and general manager of football at the club from 2008-16 before being appointed the Lions’ coach in 2017.

Clarkson was last month appointed as North Melbourne’s coach on a five-year contract, starting this November.

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Hawthorn earlier this year commissioned an external review into claims of racism, which has been delivered to the AFL.

McLachlan said the claims were harrowing and would be directed to a newly formed independent panel headed by a King’s Counsel.

“These are serious allegations,” McLachlan said on Wednesday.

“It’s important that we treat them appropriately whilst also ensuring the formal process provides support to those impacted and also natural justice to those people who are accused.

“This is a process that it’s appropriate that it is held independent of the normal AFL integrity department response.

“We need to run a proper investigation to get to the bottom of it … out of respect to those making the allegations and out of respect to those being accused.”

McLachlan said the four-person panel would be appointed within 24 hours.

Hawthorn CEO Justin Reeves described the allegations in the report as “heartbreaking”.

“We said in our statement earlier this morning that these allegations are extremely disturbing,” he said.

“We are profoundly disappointed that some of our former players and their families feel like this about their experiences at the club.”

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Asked if the club had a culture problem, Reeves said it went wider.

“I think Australia has a culture problem, historically, and I think like all of us, we focus on every day being better and building a great environment for our club,” he said.

“I feel confident from the report as well that currently our players feel culturally safe. But like so many institutions, I think we have to face our history and our past and we have to act responsibly and we have to cooperate and move forward from that.”

AFL Players’ Association chief executive Paul Marsh said he was “extremely concerned” at the ABC report, published on Wednesday.

One couple was pressured to terminate a pregnancy for the sake of the player’s career, the ABC reported.

“Clarkson just leaned over me and demanded that I needed to get rid of my unborn child and my partner,” the unnamed player told the ABC.

“I was then manipulated and convinced to remove my SIM card from my phone so there was no further contact between my family and me.”

The player’s partner did not go through with a termination and told the ABC that only at the five-month mark of the pregnancy was the player allowed by the club to return to his family.

The woman has said she terminated a second pregnancy during the player’s time at the Hawks, claiming the “fear” and “trauma” from the couple’s earlier treatment contributed to the decision.

Another footballer’s partner said she miscarried after the couple were allegedly split and prevented from contacting each other.

A third player had made repeated suicide attempts after his time with the Hawks “triggered a mental health crisis”, according to his partner.

McLachlan confirmed some of the details to emerge on Wednesday were not outlined in Hawthorn’s review document, which also deidentified the players and partners.

Former Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge, who played at the club from 2002-17, said the claims were “shocking, terrible”.

Asked on SEN radio if he was aware of what was detailed in the report, Hodge replied: “Not to the extent of the terrible stuff in there.”

-with AAP