Colingwood Football Club statement
The Collingwood Football Club is continuing to cooperate fully with Victoria Police in relation to an alleged incident last Sunday morning.
The club respects that the Victoria Police wishes to conduct its full inquiries fairly and without interference, pressure, or speculation about the details.
The club is concerned not only for the players’ welfare but also that of the complainant.
The club believes it is grossly unfair to name anyone - and will not do so - as the investigation is still in its early days.
The continued media speculation creates unfair prejudice against all individuals connected with the investigation.
The players have denied any wrongdoing in relation to the alleged incident.
The AFL
The AFL wishes to issue the following statement to all media outlets:
“The AFL is disappointed that a Melbourne radio station today chose to publicly name several players in relation to a serious allegation. It is the AFL’s view it is inappropriate to do so.
“The AFL acknowledges this is a very serious complaint and one the Victoria Police, the AFL and the Collingwood Football Club is treating with the utmost importance. Collingwood has fully co-operated with the Police at all times and the AFL commends the club’s approach to this serious issue. But anyone involved in a serious matter like this - whether they play AFL or come from any other walk of life - is entitled to a presumption of innocence and is entitled to not be pre-judged or paraded publicly.
“The AFL is very disappointed that 3AW chose to name players at a time when the players and the Collingwood Football Club is co-operating fully with Victoria Police in a serious inquiry.”
