Arabic version: لاعبو سوانز يعتذرون بعد إيقافهم حتى نهاية الموسم

According to ABC News, five Sydney Swans players have apologised after the club stood them down for the remainder of the season for breaching club standards and expected behaviour. Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner said they were “deeply sorry to everyone involved”.

The players were banned after staying out late drinking and bringing women back to the team hotel following Sunday night’s game against Essendon. In their statement, they said their behaviour had fallen “well short of the standards expected of us and the values of our club”, accepted the sanction and apologised for its impact.

The ban covers Sunday’s home-and-away finale against North Melbourne and any subsequent finals matches. The AFL also said the five players would not be considered for the 2026 All Australian squad, a decision it said was independent of the ongoing Victoria Police investigation.

Victorian sex crime detectives are expected to travel to New South Wales as they investigate an alleged incident at the Pullman Hotel in the early hours of Monday morning. ABC News reported the investigation centres on an allegation of touching without consent. Police have made no arrests and laid no charges, while the club said none of the banned players had been formally interviewed by police and it was not suggested any were accused of sexual assault.

Swans chairman Andrew Pridham and chief executive Matthew Pavlich said the football sanctions were solely related to breaches of club standards. Pavlich said the club was deeply concerned about the welfare and wellbeing of the women involved, while Pridham said the decision to effectively “torpedo” the season showed how seriously the club viewed the matter.