Both Fagan and former Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson have been put at the centre of allegations unearthed during a review at the Hawthorn club.

The Lions confirmed Fagan would take a “leave of absence” from his position while the AFL investigated the allegations. The status of Clarkson, North Melbourne’s new mentor, remains unclear.

“Chris supports and welcomes the investigation,” the Brisbane club 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.”

Clarkson was Hawthorn’s head coach from 2005 and 2021, while Fagan was an assistant coach and general manager of football at the club from 2008 to 2016, before being appointed Brisbane coach in 2017.

Hawthorn earlier this year held a review into claims of historic racism at the club.

The review was performed by external First Nations consultants who did not speak with Clarkson or Fagan.

“This process was … to speak purely to our First Nations past players and staff,” Hawthorn Chief Executive Justin Reeves told reporters on Wednesday.

“We had no idea what was to come out of those conversations so we didn’t speak to anyone outside of that group.”

The review was delivered to the Hawthorn hierarchy a fortnight ago, with the ABC reporting on Wednesday that a former Hawks player alleged he was told by Clarkson to terminate his partner’s pregnancy.

The player said a group of coaches including Clarkson and Fagan urged him to break up with his partner, the ABC reported.

“It’s tough reading, it’s heartbreaking,” Reeves said.

“These allegations are extremely disturbing.

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

Reeves said he was unaware of the identities of players interviewed as part of the review due to confidentiality agreements.

But Reeves, who was appointed Hawthorn’s chief executive in October 2017, urged the club to face its past.

“Australia has a culture problem historically,” he said.

“Like all of us, we focus on every day being better and building a great environment for our club.

“And I feel confident from the report as well that currently our players feel culturally safe.

“But like so many institutions, we have to face our history and our past.”

Earlier, the AFL said the review document contained “very serious allegations”.

“The experiences outlined in the document are extremely serious and require further and full examination,” the AFL said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The AFL is finalising a process to investigate the allegations and has sought further details of those who shared their experiences in order to progress its investigation.”

The ABC reported the document included allegations of key Hawthorn figures demanding the separation of young Indigenous players from their partners.

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

The player told the ABC a group of coaches including head coach Clarkson and and his then senior assistant coach Chris Fagan urged him to have his partner’s pregnancy terminated, break up with his partner, and move into the home of an assistant coach.

Clarkson last month was appointed as North Melbourne’s coach on a five-year contract, starting in November, while Fagan has been the Brisbane Lions’ head coach since 2017.

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

“They told me I’d be living with one of the other coaches from that night onwards.”

The player’s partner detailed a meeting with Hawthorn’s then player development manager Jason Burt.

“Jason had repeatedly told me that (the player) had made these decisions on his own but I knew there was more to it,” she told the ABC.

“Burt actually confirmed my thoughts when he said Hawthorn had decided it was better for (his) footy career if he didn’t become a father.

“They just wanted him to move on from his family and focus on football.”

She didn’t terminate the pregnancy and said only at the five-month mark of the pregnancy was the player allowed by the club to return to his family, the report said.