Media
|
News
March 17, 2026
Sydney Swans chief Matthew Pavlich has confessed to removing references to the "Jewish community" from a prematch tribute honouring victims of the Bondi terrorist attack and insists he made the call without any directive from the AFL.
The Herald Sun revealed on Monday that the league had been referred by Victorian federal Senator James Paterson for investigation by the royal commission into antisemitism.
AFL chief Andrew Dillon failed to explain at the weekend why a speech delivered by Pavlich before the Opening Round Swans-Carlton match at the SCG had made no mention of the Jewish community.
"I don't know what happened with the script," Dillon told 3AW on Saturday.
But footy great Gerard Healy revealed that "the script was changed" in a bid to depoliticise the tribute.
Pavlich fronted the media on Monday and said he took "full responsibility" for the omission. "I own it as CEO, that's on me, I take full responsibility," he said.
The former Fremantle great said the AFL had approved an earlier version of the script which included a direct reference to the "Jewish community".
"To be really clear, we worked on it internally, we sent that to the AFL, we also worked on it from there, and ended up doing what we did," Pavlich said, adding there was no directive or instruction from the AFL to remove or change the reference to the Jewish community.
The Swans said in a statement: "We acknowledge that was an error of judgment and again we apologise."
The move incensed members of the Jewish community and prompted Senator Paterson to refer the league to the Royal Commission on AntiSemitism and Social Cohesion.
In a letter to former High Court judge Virginia Bell, who is leading the commission, the senator said he encouraged her to "urgently request the AFL to preserve all documents and communications, including any correspondence with the Sydney Swans and any internal communications within the AFL, in relation to this matter".
He added: "(T)he reported involvement of AFL staff in this incident should be closely examined as part of the Commission's inquiries into the nature and prevalence of antisemitism in Australia."
After the Swans confessed to the omission, Senator Paterson said: "It is incredibly disappointing to learn that someone at an AFL club believes it was 'inclusive' to remove all references to Jews in a script about the antisemitic Bondi terror attack, whose victims were overwhelmingly Jewish.
"It is further evidence of deeply ingrained cultural problems in our sporting institutions that must be probed thoroughly by the royal commission."
It is the second time in days that the AFL has been accused of playing politics after it was revealed the league told state Liberal leader Jess Wilson to remove an Instagram post at the MCG calling out CFMEU corruption.