SYDNEY chairman Andrew Pridham and chief executive Matthew Pavlich faced the media on Wednesday.

Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner have been suspended for the rest of the season, including finals, after the club ruled them out for breaching club standards and behaviours.

It comes following the players' involvement in the alleged incident in Melbourne, which is now the subject of a police investigation.

Read the full transcript from the press conference below.

Pridham: "Thank you everyone for being here today. Today we're going to talk about the sanctions that we've imposed on the five players involved in the incident on Monday morning in Melbourne. It's important to state, I know that there's great interest in the broader aspects of this situation, please appreciate that we're in a position where it is subject to the Victorian Police inquiry and therefore our statements will purely relate to our inquiries relative to the players, the five players involved breaching the standards of our football club. As much as we would like to, we cannot discuss any matters broader than that and our inquiries were limited, very much limited to their actions on Monday morning relative to the standards, the high standards that we hold as a club. I think Matthew will then go through the process that we've been through in the last two days. At the outset, I want to offer an apology, a sincere apology to the community, to our many, many fans. Our corporate partners have been amazingly supportive of us, understanding that we are attempting to deal with this matter as quickly as we can, as honestly as we can, given the constraints of the police inquiry, and to very much be transparent in our dealings with the media. Our thoughts go out to everybody who's been impacted by these events, and we know it's impacted many, many people, ranging from the partners of our staff, our players, our women's program and men's program. There's deep disappointment within the club at what has occurred and we know that many people are hurting and we are providing support to our players, to their partners, to as many people (as) we can. To our fans and members, many have expressed their deep concerns with the events and when I talk to them I just want to say that we want to work very, very hard to rebuild your trust. We've had a magnificent relationship with our many fans, corporate partners and the community in general over many, many years and we really want to rebuild that and work with everybody that hopefully people can see how seriously we've taken this matter and we're very proud of our culture that we've built over many, many years at the club. We get more right than we get wrong. Clearly this is a very sad day for us and for everybody involved. I know that the five players involved, they're extremely remorseful for their actions in having breached the club's standards and I think that the sanction that we've imposed and the impact that will have on our football season is clear for all to see. And in making this decision in terms of the sanction, it's very important to note that the football outcome was not a consideration of the board. We purely are looking at this through the lens of a small number of players, relative to our total player list, breaching our high standards that we expect. We're disappointed. We look forward to moving forward and hopefully we can deal with this matter in a professional way."

Pavlich: "As you would have seen earlier today, our players Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner will now not be considered for selection for the remainder of the 2026 AFL season and that's including the final series. We've been working very closely with the five players involved, with the AFL who are supportive of this approach and so too we've been chatting a lot at length with the AFL Players' Association. As Andrew said, we respect that this is an ongoing investigation by Victoria Police and the actions we've taken today are independent, totally independent of this. We arrived at this sanction after our own internal inquiries with the five players and other parties. As I said on Monday, to say we're disappointed is an understatement. We're deeply embarrassed and ashamed that the poor choices of five of our players, and the impact that's had on the women involved and also the club, our supporters and so many other people that Andrew's talked about. As I've said, it's important to understand that this sanction is only as it relates to the players' behaviours and the standards that we accept and we're expecting of them post-game on Sunday night and into Monday morning. Those standards are of the highest order and we hold all players and staff accountable to those really high standards and personal conduct. Having been here for 12 months, representing this club takes a lot of responsibility on that and we're not shying away from it. This issue, we've made a big statement, we've taken this incredibly seriously and appreciate that there's plenty of questions and we're happy to open up."

Reporter: "Matthew, you've offered apologies and your thoughts to everybody today, the players, the fans, the sponsors, the partners of the players. What about the women at the centre of this?"

Pavlich: "We have offered, we're deeply concerned about their welfare and the wellbeing of those women and we offer as much support as we can. They're the ones who are impacted severely at the moment, and we are here to acknowledge those allegations.

"It's a police matter, so we're not going to interfere with that by reaching out to them."

Reporter: "Just on those sanctions, Matt, what did the players breach? What are those high standards? Was it the drinking? Out late? What was it?"

Pavlich: "Yeah, it was staying out late, it was drinking, it was continuing to continue their night, it was bringing women back to the hotel. It was a long way short of what we expected of our players and we're holding them to a really high standard, but they were well short of anywhere near that standard."

Reporter: "You said earlier this week that players found themselves in that situation. Do you regret that?"

Pavlich: "We were getting on the front foot. We were trying to take ownership of this process and this incident. We are deeply disappointed with the players' behaviour, but at the same time... we are expressing our concerns deeply for the women involved."

Reporter: "Matthew, have the players been allowed to, they're obviously suspended for the rest of the season, will they be allowed to come train within the club facilities? And, secondly, were they tested for illicit drugs?"

Pavlich: "The first part of your question, we're not abandoning our players, we are supporting our players through this really challenging time for them. Just to be clear, they will not be considered for AFL selection for the remainder of the season, including finals, but they will be allowed back at the football club."

Reporter: "Can you explain the line in terms of staying up late and drinking? Your coach was out at a bar drinking at night. Where does that line get crossed?"

Pavlich: "The staff, so coaches, physios, doctors, commercial staff, media people, had a pre-planned get together. They all finished the game quite late, they all got back to the hotel quite late, had some dinner and then went out. So it wasn't inappropriate what they did. No issue at all with it."

Reporter: "Were the players given instructions about when they should be back in the hotel, did they have a curfew?"

Pavlich: "No curfew."

Reporter: "Regardless of whether these allegations are true or not, does the club have a culture problem?"

Pavlich: "Andrew might be best placed to speak to the culture of this football club because he's been here for a long period of time. But all I can say is that this football club has had a wonderful, strong, rich culture. But we've got a long way back here to rebuild the trust of our fans, our commercial partners, our sponsors and the people that love the Sydney Swans."

Reporter: "Just a second part of your question though, the drug testing, did you do that on those five players?"

Pavlich: "That's potentially part of the police matter which we aren't going near."

Reporter: "Andrew, can you explain how the board came to the decision to suspend players for the rest of the season?"

Pridham: "Yeah, sure. As I mentioned, it was very much a decision based on their behaviours and there were discussions with the players specifically related to the events in terms of being in the room on the evening and drinking and having brought women back to the hotel. That was the sole aspect of what we looked at. The decision was very much what has been the impact of breaching our standards and, coming back to the question on our culture, we're very, very proud of our culture. We don't get everything perfectly right over time and things happen from time to time and it's how we fix it going forward."

Reporter: "How did you decide on the suspension?"

Pridham: "I think we felt that it was very, very important that we set a very, very high standard and bar in terms of the seriousness of this matter and the impact it's had on the club and the community and other people. And we felt that it is a very, very significant sanction. Clearly, the entire club, all the players, coaches, etc. have worked incredibly hard. Our fans are incredibly excited. about the prospect having finished second on the premiership table. And to deny those players, the five players and the rest of their teammates and everyone else involved, the fans, the ability to compete on a level playing field, I guess, in the finals, we felt was a very, very significant situation."

Reporter: "How angry is the rest of the squad?"

Pridham: "Clearly everyone's incredibly disappointed. And I think I can speak for myself. Apart from being a chair, I'm also a fan, and I'm incredibly disappointed."

Reporter: "Will they be able to play again with those five?"

Pridham: "I think, you know, we just have to wait and see what happens going forward."

Reporter: "What have you done to support the AFLW players? There's reports that Callum Mills and Dean Cox have addressed the players. How are they being supported to train side by side and also, going forward in terms of making this decision, were the AFLW senior players involved in that decision and the suspension?"

Pridham: "No, the decision in terms of not playing the players for the balance of the season is one contained with the board and with the input of Matthew, senior coach, and Leon Cameron, the general manager of football."

Reporter: "Andrew, you're talking about high standards and the club culture, but you had players out drinking until four o'clock. You've said they've had women in their room. Does this mean that the club in some way has failed to get the message through to these, some of them very senior players. What's gone so wrong?"

Pridham: "Well, I think the fact that we've got to the place where we are today and we've effectively suspended the players for the balance of the season when we're heading into a final series, it just tells you how seriously we've taken it. Clearly something has gone wrong. They shouldn't have been in that situation of being out that late. And the only way we can deal with it is to put our foot down incredibly hard, which we've done. We've not, I think, a very important point to make that we, as a football club, that is our business, and to effectively torpedo our season by making a decision. It just tells you how seriously we're taking it."

Reporter: "Are you concerned about corporate backlash?"

Pavlich: "We've been speaking to our commercial partners, our corporate partners, our fans, members, as much as we can. We've been informing them as early as we can. What I would say is we've got wonderful support at the club in that space. Our commercial partners have been wonderful. Clearly, this is a really testing time for the football club. But generally speaking, that long-standing relationship we had with many of those people at those organisations and also those corporate partners is something that we hold very close to our heart."

Question about the club's culture in terms of respect for women

Pavlich: "All I've seen so far in this football club, barring this significant incident, is that we are one club and we treat and respect women incredibly well and it's of the utmost importance to our football club. We have a huge female supporter base, we've got a huge Academy that has boys and girls playing in it. And all women deserve to be treated respectfully and feel safe."

Reporter: "Matthew, can we just confirm it was only the five players under investigation? No other players, no other staff involved in this incident?"

Pavlich: "Just the five players."

Reporter: "Matt, just before, I think you said that there was no curfew. Will there be a curfew imposed now on players? Do rules have to change for that?"

Pavlich: "We will revise or review some of our protocols, but that's a decision for Dean, Callum Mills and Leon Cameron."

Reporter: "Has the club considered testing these players for illicit drugs?"

Pavlich: "Again, that matter is with the police."

Reporter: "When will they return to the club?"

Pavlich: "We're working through that with them. I think Andrew mentioned this, but they're incredibly disappointed in their actions. They know they've let a lot of people down. They know they've impacted the women involved, they are remorseful about the hours of Monday morning and we'll get them back to the club and around their teammates and the staff at the right time."

Reporter: "How are the AFLW team being supported?"

Pavlich: "Deeply disappointed they are like we are. Their welfare is the utmost importance to us and we're supporting them as best we can. We've met with them a number of times. We're continuing to work closely with them because they've got a game to prepare for on Sunday. They had a wonderful victory in Adelaide. Last weekend, being there and seeing the enthusiasm as that season begins, we are supporting them as best we can."

Reporter: "How were the players told and communicated to them?"

Pavlich: "The five players? I met with the players along with representatives and I spoke to them in person.

"There's a lot of mistruths as well. Can I just be really clear on a couple of things? All five players have not been formally interviewed by police, and no charges have been laid whatsoever. So there's a lot of mistruths out there, which we're trying to manage as best we can. So I just want to be clear on that. So there are issues related to the police matter we can't talk about…"

Reporter: "Are you expecting charges to be laid?"

Pavlich: "I can't comment on that."

Reporter: "Matthew, are the Swans' title hopes over do you think?"

Pavlich: "I am always glass full. I'm always optimistic of what our club, what our people can do."

Pridham: "Look, I think, as Matthew said, you've always got to enter the field of play with the expectation of performing well and we'll send our best team out there and we hope they can perform well. Let's see what happens. But more in the context of that was very much that the seriousness of which we have taken this matter, the fact that we are willing to, in five of our absolute best players, to remove their availability for the rest of the season, I hope demonstrates that we're not trying to brush anything under the carpet. We're taking it very, very seriously. Our stand is a cornerstone to our culture over many, many years, is that when people do step outside our expected standards, we do act swiftly and decisively, and that's what we've done, and I'm confident that having taken this action, we'll be in a better place going forward as a result.

Reporter: "Andrew, if there is charges and potentially there's a conviction, then could there be more punishment?"

Pridham: "I think we just have to wait and see what happens."

Reporter: "Andrew, the doubleheader this weekend should have been a moment of pride for the club. What approach will the club now take to those two games?"

Pridham: "Yeah, look, it's going to be difficult. But our approach very much will be to celebrate having a historic doubleheader with the women's team playing. And I know they're very excited about that. And we just have to make it as normal as possible. And clearly respecting the circumstances of this week is going to make that difficult. But we're hopeful that our fans turn up to the extent they feel willing to do so, come and support the teams."

Reporter: "Andrew, without treading on the police investigation, how serious is the allegation, in your words, against the players? I'm not asking you to comment or tell us what the allegation is, but in your words, how serious is the allegation that has been made?"

Pridham: "Well, as I said at the outset, we're only dealing with their breaching our standards as a club."

Reporter: "Andrew, how confident are you that Dean Cox and Matthew are the people to help rebuild this culture given this almost unprecedented…"

Pridham: "I've got complete confidence in our leadership team. Absolutely. That has not been dented at all by the actions, very unfortunate actions of the five players and in relation to breaching our standards, that really relates to them and I think to extrapolate beyond that I think is very unfair."

Reporter: "What changes are you going to implement within the club to make sure that your male players respect women and understand how to respect women?"

Pridham: "This breach of our standards relates to five players so there are many players who this doesn't apply to and I believe that our male team have by and large have always displayed complete respect for women. So I don't think that's something that's of concern. However, clearly when situations such as this emerge and clearly there has been a breakdown in standards, we will in time as a board and as an executive team will review how we deal with these things going forward and we'll look to see the changes."