{"id":77163,"date":"2026-08-21T06:11:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T06:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/77163\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T06:11:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T06:11:07","slug":"sydney-swans-alleged-sexual-assault-at-pullman-women-to-sue-in-victorian-supreme-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/77163\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney Swans alleged sexual assault at Pullman: Women to sue in Victorian Supreme Court"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two women at the centre of a sexual assault allegation involving Sydney Swans players are reportedly planning to sue the club and five of its players in the Victorian Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for the women say they are preparing to launch civil action in the Common Law Division of the court and will claim damages for pain, suffering, psychological injury and economic loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are currently investigating the circumstances and preparing to commence legal proceedings against the club and potentially the individuals involved,\u201d Manny Carbone, a partner at Carbone Lawyers, told The Age on Friday afternoon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur clients are extremely traumatised and feel that their dignity and personal rights have been seriously violated by the events of Monday.\u201d<\/p>\n

It comes as the Swans hit back at claims of \u201cmisinformation\u201d and threaten their own legal action after another lawyer from Carbone Lawyers made bombshell claims on Melbourne radio.<\/p>\n

Partner and Head of Personal Injury Law and Litigation John Karantzis broke his silence on Friday morning, claiming what took place in a hotel room at the Pullman on Monday morning was \u201cdisgusting\u201d and \u201cabhorrent\u201d.<\/p>\n

Karantzis, who is representing two of the three women allegedly called to the room of Swans players, told 3AW\u2019s Tom Elliot he was shocked by what allegedly occurred.<\/p>\n

\"Lawyer<\/p>\n

\u201cTom, can I just say at the outset, what has been alleged, these women were subjected to … disgusting actions and behaviour,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese women already have a difficult job, and what they were subjected to, it is alleged, was demeaning, abhorrent and simply not moral or acceptable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re suffering severe stress and anxiety, they\u2019re actually fearing for their life at the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of interest in this case and they are literally in hiding and they are suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elliot asked Karantzis if things went further than agreed between the adult entertainers and the players in the early hours of Monday morning before police were called to the five-star hotel.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, that\u2019s the case, things did get out of hand. I can\u2019t go into details … however the line was crossed and unfortunately what they\u2019ve been subjected to I literally cannot say on the radio.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elliot asked the lawyer: \u201cBut it is very, very bad?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly,\u201d Karantzis said. \u201cFor this to occur in a public setting with quite a few people involved, it\u2019s unbelievable in this day and age that these type of things can occur in public.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elliot asked Karantzis if there were more than five people in the room with the women.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re saying there were more than five men there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, more than five men and it\u2019s alleged there were even a few leaders in that room.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawyer said the women involved \u201cfeel like enough is enough\u201d and \u201cthey want justice, they want their voice to be heard\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said he wanted \u201can apology and full transparency as to who was involved and what occurred\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you saying the club hasn\u2019t been transparent?\u201d Elliot asked him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is my understanding,\u201d Karantzis said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom, you and I have young daughters. We would be horrified if they were subjected to a tenth of what they were subjected to on Monday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis type of behaviour is just not acceptable and it keeps occurring. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got a lot of sympathy for these women. For them to be humiliated and degraded in this way, it\u2019s just not on, it\u2019s not acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

News.com.au is not suggesting the claims of the lawyer are true, just that they are the allegations made on behalf of the women involved.<\/p>\n

At a press conference on Friday morning, Swans head coach Dean Cox was asked directly about who was in the room.<\/p>\n

Cox said he \u201cwasn\u2019t in the room\u201d, but would not elaborate when asked if other staff members were in the room.<\/p>\n

When asked if any Swans staff members were in the room, Cox said: \u201cThat\u2019s a police investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

A reporter asked Cox for a second time. \u201cIsn\u2019t that something the Swans would know? You can answer that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a police investigation so all (of) that will be brought out in due course,\u201d Cox said.<\/p>\n

The Swans issued a statement after the press conference grilling on Friday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sydney Swans can confirm that all investigations carried out by the Club have consistently indicated that the only representatives of the Club in the room central to the police investigation were the five players who have been stood down,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have every reason to consider that reports to the contrary are simply false.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are respecting the process with the relevant authorities and will refrain from commenting on Police matters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would also like to take this opportunity to condemn some of the misinformation being reported and are now considering our legal position on those matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cox was also asked directly about the claims made by the lawyer for the two women this morning. <\/p>\n

\u201cDean, a lawyer for two of the women spoke this morning and described the behaviour as disgusting, abhorrent, the worst he has ever heard of a woman being subjected to in his 28 years of being a lawyer,\u201d a journalist said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you respond to that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I respond to \u2014 the utmost, the highest level about respecting women. I have always been like that,\u201d Cox said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t comment on what a lawyer says about something other than, you know, we\u2019ll work through our process and my stance on respect for women is of the highest order.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Swans were in Melbourne on Sunday night to play Essendon and could not fly back to Sydney because of an airport curfew. <\/p>\n

Several players carried on drinking well into the morning before returning to the Pullman Hotel where it is alleged they organised for adult entertainers to join them.<\/p>\n

The club earlier this week stood down five players \u2014 Nick Blakey, James Jordon, Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner and Riley Bice \u2014 for the rest of the season they were found to have breached the club\u2019s standards of behaviour.<\/p>\n

It is reported that Heeney is at the centre of the alleged sexual assault investigation but no arrests or charges have been laid and he has not yet been formally interviewed by police.<\/p>\n

Read related topics:Sydney<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two women at the centre of a sexual assault allegation involving Sydney Swans players are reportedly planning 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