The Collingwood Football Club is facing new allegations of racism, with its chief executive officer Craig Kelly accused of making slurs and jokes about Indigenous culture.

Warning: The following story contains language which may offend some readers.

The club's former head of First Nations strategy, Mark Cleaver, has outlined the claims against Mr Kelly in documents filed with the Federal Circuit and Family Court.

Mr Cleaver, who is non-binary and is referred to using he/him pronouns in court documents, is now suing Collingwood. 

He has alleged he suffered "hurt, humiliation and distress" and "economic loss" after the club terminated his employment in May this year.

Mr Cleaver alleges the club breached several laws, including the discrimination acts around race, disability and equal opportunity.

In an application filed with the court, Mr Cleaver described himself as a First Nations person who is gay, in a same-sex relationship and suffers from multiple sclerosis.

The documents outline a series of alleged incidents involving Mr Kelly.

Mr Kelly is alleged to have described a female Indigenous elder as "a dumb old bitch", and committed physical assaults against Mr Cleaver.

In a statement, the Collingwood Football Club said it believed it had "acted lawfully" and intended to defend the matter.

The AFL said it was aware of Mr Cleaver's complaint but said it was "deemed a workplace issue for the club".

The case comes three years after an independent review commissioned by Collingwood found it had problems with systemic racism within its ranks.

Legal action follows formal complaint

In February, Mr Cleaver said he was meeting with Mr Kelly and another executive, Kerrie Brewer, when the group discussed what would be included in a cultural room at the club.

Mr Kelly allegedly threw a marngrook — a football made of possum hair — at Mr Cleaver and said, "I don't give a f*** what you put in there, put this shit in there".

Mr Cleaver said he was hit by the marngrook, which caused him humiliation and pain because of his multiple sclerosis.

"I don't give a f*** if you put a live f***ing possum in there, just get [director Jeff Browne] and [vice-president Jodie Sizer] off my arse," Mr Kelly is alleged to have said.

In separate incidents in March, Mr Kelly is accused of "forcefully" hitting and jabbing Mr Cleaver in the shoulder, and squeezing his hand so hard that it caused "significant pain".

Mr Kelly allegedly described a female elder as "that dumb old bitch" in the presence of Mr Cleaver after a meeting with leaders of First Nations men's behavioural change organisation, Dardi Munwurro.

Mr Cleaver made a formal complaint to club officials in late March and April this year, and gave a statement to Victoria Police.

According to court documents, Mr Cleaver said he met with Collingwood people and culture manager Galit Yaary and a lawyer after an internal investigation looked into Mr Cleaver's allegations.

The investigation found Mr Kelly had "tossed" the marngrook to Mr Cleaver, instead of throwing it at him. Other alleged comments about Mr Cleaver's disability were acknowledged but not deemed ableist or racist.

The conflict between the parties escalated on May 6, when law firm Maurice Blackburn wrote to Collingwood saying it was acting for Mr Cleaver, and Collingwood terminated Mr Cleaver's employment.

Collingwood intends to defend matter

In a statement, the Collingwood Football Club said it had investigated the allegations made by Mr Cleaver.

"We take all matters raised seriously and when the former staff member raised matters internally in March this year, the club looked into those concerns in line with our organisation's workplace policies and procedures," the statement said.

"Following the conclusion of both processes, the former staff member made further allegations to Victoria Police, which examined them and determined not to take any further action."

The club said Mr Cleaver's employment ended "for reasons unrelated to their concerns".

"The former staff member was employed by Collingwood for a period of six months," the statement said.

"Following their departure, the former staff member lodged an application with the Fair Work Commission but the matter was not resolved.

"While it is unfortunate this situation has not been resolved, the club believes that it has acted lawfully and intends to defend the matter."

A directions hearing in the Federal Circuit and Family Court has been listed for August 27.

In 2021, Collingwood received the results of the "Do Better" review into its culture, which found its previous responses to racist incidents had been "at best ineffective".

The review cited evidence provided by staff, players, ex-players and supporters.