Nine sports presenter Tony Jones last night asked Nine host and Collingwood Football Club president Eddie McGuire about the AFL football clubs and their stance when it comes to members asking for refunds.
We need our members to stick with us as much as we can,” McGuire told Jones during a cross on Nine News. When Jones asked about a member who has lost his job asking for a refund, McGuire said, “Listen to me. We are in it together – we look after our members. What we don’t want is a run on clubs because the membership is keeping us alive at the moment.” When Jones again interrupted, McGuire said: “You are not listening to me Tony, you are trying to get a headline.”
Jones replied: “I am not trying to get a headline, I am trying to get an answer.” As Jones tried to wind up the interview saying they were out of time, McGuire accused him of making it sound like clubs were taking money out of peoples’ pockets. “Don’t wind me up with a smartass last line.”
Eddie McGuire fires back after on-air clash with Tony Jones
Eddie McGuire has responded to a fiery primetime stoush with Channel 9 sports reporter Tony Jones by pleading for footy club supporters to keep their memberships, reports News Corp’s Nui Te Koha and Jackie Epstein.
McGuire, hosting Channel 9’s Footy Classified last night, said Jones “rightly” asked questions about possible membership refunds for people who are doing it tough.
McGuire, who is also the Collingwood Football Club president, said: “You ring your club, they’ll look after you, they always do, because the football club is owned by the members.
“It’s not owned by private industry, it’s not some oligarch sitting over the top counting the money and diving into their swimming pool like Scrooge McDuck.
“To Tony’s point, yeah, there are people who are going bad at the moment. If there is a run on the clubs, and I’ll be perfectly honest about this, then we don’t have to worry about the $600 million the banks are gonna give us, because it’ll be all over.”
—
Photo: 9News