Collingwood star Jordan De Goey barred after NY club fracas
Collingwood star Jordan De Goey has been stood down with pay after he fronted a New York court wearing a Halloween costume charged with groping a woman and assaulting her friend.
Collingwood star Jordan De Goey has been stood down with pay after he fronted a New York court wearing a Halloween costume charged with groping a woman and assaulting her friend at a Manhattan night club.
The Magpies said the 25-year-old midfielder would be stood down indefinitely, barred from training or playing with the club and removed from the AFL program, with a spokesman saying the club was deeply disappointed by reports.
“The club will continue to pay De Goey under the terms of his contract until such time as an outcome to proceedings against him in the US is reached or a more complete account of events is established,” a Collingwood spokesman said.
“In the interim, (he) will not be permitted to train or play with Collingwood or make use of club resources, staff or facilities.
“Collingwood is deeply disappointed by reports and events of the last 48 hours involving De Goey in the US. Given the circumstances, the club believes it is appropriate to remove him from the AFL program.”
It is understood Collingwood spoke to De Goey on Sunday afternoon after he fronted court wearing a dressing gown and charged with serious assault and forcible touching.
De Goey, in the US as part of a Monster Energy tour, was released on bail after pleading not guilty to the alleged assault at PHD Rooftop Lounge at the Dream Hotel in Chelsea. He spent the night in a jail cell.
New York police allege about 2.20am, De Goey and a friend, tattooist Luke Dyson, approached a 35-year-old woman on the dancefloor before grabbing her “buttocks and vagina outside clothing without permission or authority to do so.”
When the woman’s friend, a 37-year-old man, tried to intervene by pushing the pair away, Mr Dyson allegedly struck him in the face with a glass bottle, splitting his lip.
De Goey is then alleged to have punched the man “with a closed fist” before kicking him and continuing “to punch and kick victim while victim was on floor with a co-defendant”.
The AFL said the integrity unit would investigate after it was alerted by Collingwood to the incident as the Magpies attempted to contact De Goey.
De Goey and Mr Dyson posted clips on Instagram of them partying in bath robes in a nightclub that appeared to be hosting a wild Halloween party. They can be seen dancing and drinking from a bottle. Earlier posts show them driving through New York at night.
In 2018, the AFL integrity unit and Victoria Police investigated De Goey for an indecent assault from 2015.
He was to appear in court last year before the charge was withdrawn; he maintained his innocence.
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