‘Back off’: Eddie McGuire fires up over Port Adelaide’s latest request

Eddie McGuire might not be Collingwood president anymore but he’s still prepared to go back into battle on an issue he fought hard against.

Former Collingwood President Eddie McGuire has defiantly doubled down on his views regarding Port Adelaide’s iconic “prison Bar” jumper, telling the rival club to “back off”.

Port Adelaide chairman David Koch has campaigned for the club’s right to wear the traditional black-and-white striped jumper, which he says became the highest-selling guernsey in the AFL last year after the Power wore it against the Adelaide Crows in round two.

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Collingwood has previously given Port Adelaide exemptions to wear the strip — including at a 2014 final against the Richmond Tigers — but Koch wants more freedom to display it outside of “heritage” rounds.

After getting permission from the league to wear it while celebrating its 150th year as a club — albeit in front of mostly empty stands — the Power launched a petition for the right to don it at every season’s Showdown against the Crows.

McGuire threatened to take the AFL to court if it agreed to the move, claiming Port Adelaide had signed a contract when it entered the competition in 1997 never to wear black and white or a magpie — its emblem before entering the national competition — on its uniform.

Port Adelaide in the “prison Bars” jersey.

Regardless, the Power has reportedly lodged another request to the AFL to wear the iconic “Prison Bar” strip at this year’s Showdown in round eight, pending approval from Collingwood.

Even though he is no longer president of the club, McGuire had no doubts about what Collingwood’s response to the request would be and said it was only fair to reject the request while Port remained one of the clubs that benefited from the AFL’s funding model.

“I know what the answer will be — the answer is no,” McGuire told Footy Classified on Wednesday evening.

“They had it last year! So take me through this, they thought about it last year and knew they were going to play in front of an empty stadium and wore it anyway.

“The Collingwood Football Club jumper is one of the most sought-after, expensive jumpers. We’ve just done a massive deal with Nike, with CGU and Emirates on there.

“Collingwood receives $6 million a year less than Port Adelaide, so Collingwood is a net-giver every year and has been to the competition right the way through.

“If they want to celebrate something big, when they start becoming a net-giver instead of a net-receiver, then we’ll have a bit of a look at it. That jumper of Collingwood’s keeps them going because we make a lot of money off the back of that.

Caroline Wilson reports that Port Adelaide has approached the AFL to wear the 'prison bars' again this season.

Despite not being President at Collingwood anymore, Eddie McGuire is just as fired up about the request.#9FootyClassified | Watch @channel9pic.twitter.com/OxQYc8yw2y

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“It is a trademark issue. The AFL, when they took over all our trademarks, they must protect the trademark.

“Everyone is sick of it. They’ve got great jumpers. They’ve got a thousand jumpers they’ve worn over the years. It’s not a small thing. If it’s such a small thing, why are they driving us mad every year?

“They wore it last year, we’ve allowed them to wear it whenever they’ve asked to do it.

“They’ve got a thousand jumpers they can wear, they’ve got a really good jumper this year, they might want a premiership jumper.

“Worry about that, worry about making money and stop annoying us every year. Simple as that. Back off, no. You’ve got a great jumper, just get on with it. It’s just annoying now.

“I’m not the president anymore, but I’ll tell you what, I’ll come back if they give it up.”