Paul Roos levels stunning claim against ex-AFL boss over infamous swipe at Sydney Swans

Swans premiership coach Paul Roos claims an infamous swipe from former AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou influenced the way his side was umpired and admits Sydney used it as motivation during their grand final-winning season in 2005. Roos says he couldn't believe Demetriou wasn't held to account by the AFL at the time after he accused the Swans of playing "ugly" footy during their premiership campaign almost a decade ago.

Speaking on the Herald Sun’s Sacked podcast, Roos admits it's still a bit of a sore point for him all these years later. The Swans were the only team in Sydney at the time and Roos suggested it would have been more beneficial for the growth of the sport around the country - and especially the lucrative NSW market - for Demetriou not to paint his side in such a negative light.

The Swans great also questioned how no one at AFL House held Demetriou accountable for his comments and argued he should have remained objective when discussing the Sydney club. “It just seemed like a really bizarre comment. We were the only team at the time in Sydney,” Roos said on the podcast. “I was really surprised that no one held him accountable from the AFL.

"My first response is ‘can you imagine the CEO of Coca Cola saying, don’t drink Coca Cola in New South Wales. Drink Pepsi?’ And I remember being on one of the big sports shows not long after he said it and legitimately the host said, ‘Roosy, what does he mean by ugly footy? Because it’s a rugby league town, it’s a physical town, it’s a town that likes toughness.’”

Paul Roos claims 'ugly' Swans swipe influenced umpiring

The Swans premiership coach said he also thinks Demetriou's unflattering remark influenced the way umpires officiated games involving his side. Roos said his feelings were not a criticism of the umpires themselves but suggested there was an unconscious bias around the Swans and how their games were officiated off the back of the former AFL CEO's swipe.

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“We generally felt the way we played impacted the umpires,” Roos added. “And that comment, that was probably one part of it. We did feel there were times when we were umpired differently. It was interesting. We had (an assistant) coach who came in 2006 or 2007 after we had won the premiership and he made an interesting comment doing the review and he said, ‘Guys, it’s funny. Now that I am here, I actually realise that you are umpired differently.’

“I don’t think it was intentional. This is not a criticism of the umpires, but umpires are human. You know, we want the ball moving. We want goals. The players because they are on the ground, they know when a free kick is paid and not paid, and I am not suggesting it was intentional but that was the feeling the players got.”

Roos admitted the Swans used Demetriou's sledge as motivation during the 2005 season and ultimately had the last laugh after beating West Coast in the grand final to be crowned premiers. “Did we use it at times (as motivation)? Yeah, we did. And did we feel like the AFL was against us? Probably at times we did, yeah, there’s no question about that," Roos admitted. "It was just a really bizarre thing for the AFL CEO to say... We knew what we were capable of. But yeah, it was a bit of a weird time.”