Collingwood president Eddie McGuire sick of fighting with Port over the prison bars jumper

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire says the Magpies want to be part of Port Adelaide’s 150th anniversary celebrations and not get involved in another fight as the club pushes to wear its prison bars jumper next year.

Port Adelaide’s Travis Boak celebrates a goal wearing the traditional prison bars jumper back in 2014. Picture: Mark Brake

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire wants to part of Port Adelaide’s 150th celebrations and not be involved in another fight as the club pushes to wear it’s prison bars jumper next year.

McGuire said they have had preliminary discussions with the AFL on an issue that he was tired of talking about.

“Is the prison bars important to Port Adelaide, of course it is,’’ McGuire told SEN radio.

“Does it need to be black and white, maybe it doesn’t. There is plenty of ways of doing these things.

“Let’s come up with something rather than picking a fight, let’s do something that’s creative for Port Adelaide that doesn’t offend Collingwood that brings the teams together. There are a lot of ways of doing things if you open our eyes,’’ he said.

Maguire said he was fed up with the issue being raised again especially on the eve of the blockbuster clash between Collingwood and Port in Melbourne on Friday night.

“Everyone has to calm down on this. It’s another dog whistling exercise,’’ McGuire stressed.

Port Adelaide’s Travis Boak celebrates a goal wearing the traditional prison bars jumper back in 2014. Picture: Mark Brake

“Port Adelaide Football Club have asked on a number of occasions for permission to be able to wear the colours.

“I don’t want to make this sound like they have to ask our permission, but the black and white are trademark of the Collingwood Football Club as is the Magpie.

“There is a trademark issue there, but I’m not one of those people.

“I actually supported the Port Adelaide Magpies and when the Port Adelaide Football Club were trying to run them out of business not that long ago we actually offered to support them in SANFL,’’ he said.

McGuire said there would be a more significant issue if a national reserves competitions comes to fruition in the next few years.

“If this national reserves competition comes into play, then they’re going to have to decide if they’re the Port Power, the Port Magpies or something else,’’ McGuire said.

McGuire said Collingwood had always been obliging when it comes to requests from Port to wear their traditional strip.

“On every occasion Collingwood has said yes, we understand the tradition of Port Adelaide,’’ McGuire added.

“We understand the tradition of Port Adelaide, we understand them to be one of the great teams in the AFL and in Australian football and Australian sport in general.

“We’re not narks, we’ve always said yes, but what we don’t like is when people pull your pants down at the same time,’’ he said.

But he said there was ways around the continual bickering including other colour options including Port adding the magenta and blue Port wore before adopting the black and white could be an option.

“We are the Collingwood Magpies, we have a great relationship with the Port Adelaide Magpies.

“Let’s find an elegant solution so we don’t have this nonsense that comes up all the time. We want to come over and celebrate we don’t want to be part of the negativity with this, it’s ridiculous.’’

“We will do whatever we can to try and make it a spectacular celebration of a mighty club’s 150th,’’ he said.

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas told The Advertiser there was a host of factors that would go in to the decision.

“There are many sensitivities,” Thomas told The Advertiser this week. “And not just at Collingwood.

“First of all, we have to decide how we want to present the club in its 150th anniversary.

“The ‘prison bar’ guernsey has to be part of that — an absolutely important part of the celebrations. But how that plays out is still unknown.

“There is a right time — and right manner — to making these decisions.”