Sydney Swans player incident sexual assault allegation, Andrew Dillon press conference live stream, CEO to address reporters

AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon says the five stood-down Swans remain eligible to win the Brownlow Medal, but won’t be invited to next month’s count.

Dillon on Monday afternoon fronted a press conference for the first time since Victoria Police confirmed they were investigating a sexual assault allegation, which has engulfed five Swans players.

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The AFL boss addressed reporters exactly one week after Sydney’s season spiralled into crisis, with a post-match celebration in Melbourne ultimately triggering a Victoria Police investigation and the dramatic standing down of five players: Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice.

“The invitations to the Brownlow will be going out this week. Those players won’t be invited,” Dillon said.

“They’re still eligible for the Brownlow, but they’re under a club suspension, which goes until the end of the season.”

Detectives from the Sexual Crimes Squad continue to investigate an alleged sexual assault at the Pullman Hotel, while the Swans continue to maintain no players have been interviewed by police as yet.

The Age on the weekend reported a recording relating to the events at the hotel may exist, “after a person contacted the club (Sydney) claiming to have information that could be relevant to the investigation”. The Swans then reportedly passed details of this potential recording to the police via the AFL.

Foxfooty.com.au does not claim to know whether the recording exists or what information it may contain, and is only reporting that a person contacted Sydney about its existence with their details then referred to police.

Dillon said he was “not aware” of an audio recording that had been handed over to the AFL Integrity Unit, but added: “If there is a tape that’s relevant to the police investigation, it should be forwarded on to the police.”

Asked if the AFL had a broader culture issue, Dillon said: “I think the actions of a few don’t take away from the thousands of people involved in football at all different levels who do great things all the time. But what we do know is that we can do things better - and we’ll continue to do that and we’ll continue to get better.”

Dillon later added: “I think the actions of a few don’t define the actions of the entire industry.”

Asked what his message was to women involved in the game, Dillon said: “I think I’ve made it really clear what the AFL stands for: Respect for women is not negotiable.

“I think it’s right that people will be asking questions at the moment and I think football is a place where everyone should be feel safe and included. We will continue to work with our playing group and our supporters on making sure that we have an environment that’s like that.”

Dillon last Tuesday released a statement, stressing the league and wider industry must allow the police process to run its course, but said the situation “raises broader issues for our game and our responsibilities as a sport”.

“Sexual assault allegations are serious, regardless of who is involved, what time of year it is, or what they may mean for a season,” Dillon said.

“Our first question should not be what this means for a football club. It should be whether our actions match the standards we stand for and the community expects of us.

“As a sport, and as an industry, we are clear about the standards we expect and the values we stand for and the need to uphold them.

“Being clear about our standards also means being prepared to act when those standards are not met.

Follow all the latest developments and updates on the Swans situation in our live blog below.

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