Melbourne great Garry Lyon has apologised to former Demons president Glen Bartlett

With the long-running Melbourne boardroom war over, club great Garry Lyon has apologised to Glen Bartlett for a series of critical comments he made at the height of the saga.

Melbourne great Garry Lyon has apologised to former Demons president Glen Bartlett for comments he made during the club’s bitter boardroom war.

“Glen Bartlett and the Melbourne footy club have been at odds and they’ve sorted that out and I need to make a statement as well,” Lyon told SEN radio on Friday.

“Last year … I made some comments regarding Glen and I reflected on those comments and I’ve got to apologise …

“I should have given Glen the right of reply, which I didn’t and that was a mistake. We are both Melbourne people, we know that he was the president for a long period of time, he stepped up in 2013 and the Demons went on to win that premiership in 2021 of which he played a role in.

“And it’s on a voluntary basis (being president) and so I made a mistake in not allowing Glen to have the right of reply on those comments and I wish him the best in the future and I’m glad that they have been able to resolve those issues from a club point of view and hopefully there is some clear air for the footy club as well.”

Garry Lyon and former CEO Gary Pert after the 2021 grand final win. Picture: Michael Klein

Glen Bartlett, right, and Melbourne agreed on an out-of-court settlement. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Media

An out-of-court settlement between Melbourne, the AFL and Bartlett ended footy’s long-running boardroom saga earlier this month.

Bartlett launched legal action against multiple Demons directors in 2022 in relation to his sudden and murky exit as president in April the previous year.

The dispute was resolved after the Bartlett camp launched separate litigation against the AFL in October this year.

Lyon made a series of comments critical of Bartlett and was also part of a now infamous interview on SEN last year in which Demons chief executive Gary Pert claimed the club’s culture was the “best I’ve seen in 40 years”.

Pert has since announced his resignation as part of a major clean out at the trouble-plagued club.

Kate Roffey, who took Bartlett’s job, also walked away in September.

Bartlett is now in the frame to join the West Australian Football Commission.

Originally published as Melbourne great Garry Lyon has apologised to former Demons president Glen Bartlett