AFL 2020: Eddie McGuire reacts to Nathan Buckley, Collingwood scandal
Eddie McGuire has responded after being thrown under the bus once again because his Collingwood cohort can’t follow the rules.
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Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has defended himself once again after being caught in the middle of a breach of the AFL’s coronavirus restrictions.
The Magpies were slapped with a $50,000 fine ($25,000 suspended) after coach Nathan Buckley and assistant coach Brenton Sanderson broke quarantine rules by playing tennis with Aussie great Alicia Molik, who is not part of the team’s “bubble”.
Their infraction came as McGuire last week called for people within footy to be sent home from hubs for breaking the rules, saying there was still $250 million at stake and the league couldn’t risk any slip-up putting the season in jeopardy.
That saw him cop heat on social media as fans questioned whether McGuire would be on board with Buckley being banished.
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However, the Pies powerbroker said people had “misconstrued” his position on how people should be penalised. McGuire maintains earlier in the year he wanted tough sanctions when the league was discussing how the season would look after it was suspended in March.
He says the AFL opted not to go down that route and was more lenient with its penalties. Even though the league didn’t follow his advice, McGuire said once the decision was made he supported it completely.
“Let me just clear this up once and for all. My position going into the COVID-19 in society and very much in the AFL football world … we had to be very careful,” McGuire said on Triple M Melbourne’s Hot Breakfast.
“I have (AFL CEO) Gillon McLachlan, I have (AFL Commission chairman) Richard Goyder, I sit on these committees and I hear first-hand what goes on and how we have to go about it. When I’m asked my opinion I give my opinion. My opinion has been that we needed to go very hard as far as what the sanctions would be and that people had to have personal responsibility.
“I’ve said my bit, the AFL Commission then goes away and it makes its decision.
“Then they make the decisions, and then I support them 100 per cent.
“Early on my position was to go harder with sanctions and make it personal responsibility. That was not taken up by the AFL.
“I would’ve been far tougher in society on people who transgressed and I would’ve been far tougher on people in the AFL society who transgressed. The AFL then said, ‘No, we will do these things and these are the penalties’ and now I support them 100 per cent.”
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It’s the second time this season McGuire has been put in a tough spot by his own club. The president earlier suggested season-long bans should be in order for players who broke the rules and shortly afterwards Collingwood vice-captain Steele Sidebottom was slapped with a four-game suspension after a night of drinking left him disoriented and “half naked” on the street.
McGuire later said he was “proud” of how Sidebottom accepted his punishment and came under fire for his perceived “hypocrisy” when it came to how Collingwood players should be treated compared to the rest of the competition.
McGuire shared a similar sentiment after Buckley and Sanderson did the wrong thing, saying he was “proud” of how the pair took their medicine.
“Again, I’m proud they’ve done that (paid the fine) just as I was proud of the way Steele Sidebottom accepted his four weeks and got on with it,” McGuire said.
Four clubs were fined last week for breaches of COVID-19 regulations, with three of the transgressions involving players’ family members.
McGuire called for more “personal responsibility” when it comes to dishing out sanctions, believing individuals rather than clubs should be held to account.
“The AFL put a 16-page document out saying, ‘Here’s what you don’t do’,” McGuire said. “It needs a 17th page (saying), ‘And here’s what happens if it does’.
“The AFL came out last week and said to us that they were going to fine the clubs. It’s not the clubs’ fault in these situations, you can only tell people as much as you possibly can and from that moment on it becomes the person’s personal responsibility.
“Clearly people want to change things around, they want to say that I said this and Buckley should’ve been sacked. No, I’ve said it from the word go, my position has been absolutely consistent. The AFL have taken a different path and here we are, simple as that.”
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Originally published as AFL 2020: Eddie McGuire reacts to Nathan Buckley, Collingwood scandal