Arabic version: ألبانيزي يحثّ دوري كرة القدم الأسترالية على التحسن بعد فضيحة سوانز
According to ABC News, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the AFL’s initial response to the scandal involving Sydney Swans players was “completely unacceptable” and that the league needed to “do better”. The Swans on Wednesday stood down vice-captain Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, James Jordon, Riley Bice and Nick Blakey for the rest of the AFL season for breaching club standards on drinking and bringing women to a hotel.
Victoria Police’s sexual crimes squad has travelled to New South Wales to investigate a report of sexual assault. The ABC understands the report centres on an allegation that a player touched one of the women without consent. Police have not made arrests or laid charges. Albanese said the first thoughts in such matters should be about women and their safety, and said the AFL and the Swans should “have a good look” at their culture.
Swans chief executive Matthew Pavlich said on Monday the club was still determining what had happened and was conducting internal inquiries. AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon described the allegations as “deeply disturbing” in a Tuesday statement. The ABC also reported detectives had been told some players paid female adult entertainers to consume drugs off their bodies.
In the same 7.30 interview, Albanese criticised Israel’s handling of the 2024 strike on a humanitarian convoy that killed Australian woman Zomi Frankcom. After the Israel Defense Forces cleared its personnel of criminal wrongdoing, he said Australia needed a more transparent and clear explanation from the Israeli government. He said the government would press Israel and consult Frankcom’s family before making an announcement in coming days.
Albanese also said appearing on the Deep Bush podcast had been an error in hindsight. He had faced criticism over comments and hand gestures during the podcast, including gestures while referring to melons given to him by Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae. He said he had learned that he needed to do better every day.
