AFL Boss Andrew Dillon Finally Addresses Swans Scandal Fallout

AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon has confirmed the league will conduct its own review into the Sydney Swans controversy once the current police investigation is complete.

Dillon also said the five players suspended by the club remain eligible to win the Brownlow Medal, although they will not be invited to attend the awards ceremony.

Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Riley Bice, Nick Blakey and James Jordon were ruled out for the rest of the AFL season last week after Sydney determined they had breached club standards by staying out late, drinking and returning to the team hotel with women.

The players have denied any wrongdoing, and no charges have been laid.

Speaking publicly on the matter for the first time on Monday at the AFL finals launch, Dillon addressed the unfolding scandal just days before the finals series begins this weekend. His comments came after reports that one of the three women involved in the Swans hotel incident had made a second sexual assault allegation.

Dillon said further AFL penalties remain possible for the suspended Swans players if “more information comes to light”.

‘The AFL will not be conducting any inquiries until the police investigation is finished,’ he said.

Dillon was grilled about allegations that drugs were present in the hotel room and whether the players were drug-tested, which Swans officials previously insisted was a police matter.

He was also asked to respond to claims that drug-testing is an AFL matter and not for Victoria Police. 

‘As I said, there is police investigation going on right now,’ Dillon reiterated.

‘Once that is complete we will complete our inquiries, but we will not get involved while a police investigation is taking place.

‘It is a really serious matter, and the AFL cannot get in the way.’

Dillon was pressed on time restraints and whether drug samples had been taken from players in case they were required following the police probe.

‘In any event, a hair sample taken goes back three or four months,’ he said.

The suspended Swans players are still in the running to win the Brownlow Medal, despite being ineligible for the All-Australian side, which will be announced on Tuesday.

But they won’t be invited to AFL’s night of nights on September 21 at Crown Melbourne.

‘They are still eligible for the Brownlow but they’re under a club suspension, which goes until the the end of the season,’ Dillon added.

He was also asked about an audio recording allegedly concerning the women involved in the incident.

It was claimed the footage was given to the Swans, which was passed onto the police via the AFL’s integrity unit.

Dillon was unaware of any such recording.

‘If there is a tape that’s relevant to the police investigation, it should be forwarded on to the police,’ he said.

‘What is clear is the Swans have taken action, with the support of the AFL, based on the information that is at hand now. And there’s been accountabilities for those players who were involved last week.

‘The Swans have spoken to the players. They’ve shared that information with the AFL and they’ve made the calls.

‘But they’ve also been really clear that what they spoke to the players about was separate to the police investigation.’

The Swans now have the week off following an emotion-charged 53 point win against North Melbourne in front of 30,058 fans at the SCG on Sunday. 

It was the club’s lowest home crowd this season.

Earlier in the afternoon, the Swans AFLW team also won in front of a record crowd of 16,672.

It was the first time the side had played in a SCG double header before the men’s game.

Some fans walked out of the ground after the women’s game in response to the week-long scandal. 

Some of those who stayed for the men’s match held banners referencing the club’s ‘no d***head policy’. 

‘It was not only a special day but a tough day,’ Dillon said.

He said he hopes the Swans saga does not overshadow the upcoming AFL finals series.

‘I have been asked a lot in recent days, what message football should be sending young people and what we should be saying to our kids,’ Dillon said.

‘For me, the answer is straightforward – it doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter what you do, whether you’re an AFL footballer – the way we treat women says a lot about who we are as people, as a community and as a game.

‘Quite simply, respect for women is not negotiable.

‘It is right for people to be asking questions at the moment, and I think football is a place where everyone should feel safe and included.’

‘We will continue to work with our playing group and our supporters on making sure that we have an environment that’s like that.’

The Swans host the Brisbane Lions in a home qualifying final on September 5 at the SCG.

Dillon’s comment comes after one of the three women at the centre of the Sydney Swans hotel saga reportedly made a second sexual assault allegation.

A woman represented by law firm Slater & Gordon has now alleged she was the victim of ‘multiple sexual assaults’ while in the hotel, The Age reports.

The fresh allegation follows two other women, represented by Carbone Lawyers, claiming they were subjected to sexual conduct in excess of what was agreed to when they were booked as topless waitresses. 

It’s understood Slater & Gordon lawyer said the new allegation has been reported to police. When asked specifically if the investigation had been broadened, a Victoria Police spokesperson told The Age: ‘We have nothing further to add.’ 

Daily Mail does not suggest any of the named Swans players are under police investigation or involved in any wrongdoing alleged by the women.