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Reuters

The coach of Australian Rules football team Adelaide Crows has been stabbed to death and his son arrested and charged with murder, police said on Friday, sending shockwaves through the country’s richest sporting competition.
Police and ambulance crews were called to Phil Walsh’s Adelaide home at 2am local time on Friday and found the 55-year-old coach had suffered multiple knife wounds following an argument with his son.
Paramedics attempted to resuscitate Walsh but he was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Walsh’s 26-year-old son was charged with murder after being arrested in a nearby suburb and detained for psychological assessment.
Police can confirm that the man murdered at Somerton Park in the early hours of the morning is Phil Walsh, coach of the Adelaide Crows and his son, aged 26, has been charged with murder
Police statement
“Police can confirm that the man murdered at Somerton Park in the early hours of the morning is Phil Walsh, coach of the Adelaide Crows and his son, aged 26, has been charged with murder,” South Australia Police said.
Walsh’s wife had also suffered a “non-life threatening” leg injury during the domestic incident and been taken to hospital for treatment.
Police said they understood that Walsh’s son lived with his parents.
A successful player in the 1980s, Walsh took over as head coach of the Crows, two-times champions of the Australian Football League (AFL), during the off-season.
“Tragic day for Crows supporters and sport in general. A tragedy that people in Adelaide woke up to this morning,” former Adelaide Crows chairman Bill Sanders told state radio ABC.
The Crows appointment was Walsh’s first head coaching role and he was charged with whipping the underperforming team into shape.
Tragic day for Crows supporters and sport in general.  A tragedy that people in Adelaide woke up to this morning
Former Adelaide Crows chairman Bill Sanders
A hard-running winger as a player, Walsh once described himself as a “hard a***” coach at training but was remembered as a father-figure to players with an easy sense of humour away from the game.
The news stunned the football-mad South Australia state capital, where crowds of 50,000 regularly pack out the Adelaide Oval to watch the Crows, back-to-back champions in 1997-98.
“The Adelaide Football Club is devastated at the sudden passing of senior coach Phil Walsh in the early hours of this morning,” the club said.
Distraught Crows players assembled at the club on Friday, as tributes from fans, rival teams and other Australian football competitions flooded social media.
“So sad to hear of Phil Walsh’s death,” Nathan Buckley, head coach of AFL team Collingwood and one of the game’s finest players in the modern era, tweeted.
“No sense to it. We are all flesh and blood. Love each other. Thoughts with all family and friends.”
The club is scheduled to play against the Geelong Cats on Sunday, but had made no decision as to whether the match would go ahead.


Aussie Rules community reels after stabbing death of Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh and arrest of son

Phil Walsh had been tasked with revitalising the Adelaide Crows. Photo: AFP

Sport