Arabic version: ميلز ينفي وجود انقسام مع معالجة سوانز إيقاف اللاعبين

According to ABC News, Sydney Swans captain Callum Mills has denied there is a rift within the playing group after five teammates were stood down over breaches of the club’s standards on drinking and staying out late.

Isaac Heeney, Nick Blakey, Chad Warner, Riley Bice and James Jordon were stood down following Sydney’s win over Essendon in Melbourne last Sunday. Victoria Police’s sexual crimes squad is investigating a report of sexual assault that ABC understands concerns an allegation that a player touched one of the women without consent. Police have made no arrests and laid no charges.

Mills said he was “deeply shocked and disappointed” and had not seen behaviour like it before. “We really are disappointed at the action of these five players,” he said, adding that the playing group supported the club’s sanctions. He said the players would need to address the group, while rejecting suggestions of division among teammates.

Coach Dean Cox said he was not in the hotel room at the centre of the matter and declined to discuss whether other players or staff were present, citing the police investigation. Asked why the suspended players were driven from Melbourne to Sydney rather than flown, Cox said decisions had been made on how best to support them in the circumstances.

Cox said the club’s culture had “taken a hit” and that Sydney would work to regain community trust. Both Cox and Mills apologised to the Swans’ AFLW team, with Mills saying he had personally acknowledged the group’s pain. Sydney’s men play North Melbourne at the SCG on Sunday afternoon, following an AFLW match between Sydney and Essendon at the same venue.