Port Adelaide chairman David Koch has fired back at former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire in the ongoing feud over the ‘prison bar’ jumper.
McGuire, who stood down as Magpies president in February, told the Power to “back off” in their attempts to wear the iconic jumper in 2021 Showdowns.
“I know what the answer will be - the answer is no. They had it last year!” he told Channel 9’s Footy Classified.
“The Collingwood Football Club jumper is one of the most sought-after, expensive jumpers. We’ve just done a massive deal with Nike, with CGU and Emirates on there.
“Collingwood receives $6 million a year less than Port Adelaide, so Collingwood is a net-giver every year and has been to the competition right the way through.
“It is a trademark issue. The AFL, when they took over all our trademarks, they must protect the trademark.”
“Everyone is sick of it. They’ve got great jumpers. They’ve got a thousand jumpers they’ve worn over the years.
“Worry about (winning a flag), worry about making money and stop annoying us every year. Simple as that. Back off, no. You’ve got a great jumper, just get on with it. It’s just annoying now.”
Koch responded to McGuire via an official Port Adelaide statement on Thursday.
“This issue is not going to go away because Eddie McGuire wants it to go away,” he said.
“As we’ve said all along, it is a decision for the AFL and we’ll continue to go through the official channels to have that conversation.
“The AFL’s purpose is to ‘progress the game so everyone can share in its heritage’ – everyone.
“Heritage makes our game stronger, connecting our fans and stakeholders uniquely to their clubs – all clubs.
“Anything we can do to strengthen this bond can only build stronger clubs and a healthier game.
“We are simply asking to celebrate our heritage by wearing this guernsey in two Showdowns a year at Adelaide Oval.”