Collingwood president Mark Korda has broken his silence after Jeff Browne publicly launched his long-awaited board coup on Tuesday.
Korda, who has only been in the position since April, is under pressure from Browne, who revealed his intentions in the Herald Sun.
The Collingwood board responded on Wednesday night, slamming Browne’s move as one of “personal ambition” in a collective club statement.
“A coup is not warranted, it has not been justified and cannot be justified. Nor is it in step with good governance or the will of members to agree to the demands of an individual member wanting only to be president,” the statement read.
“In any case, there is no vision, no ticket, no compelling strategy for you to consider or for us to step aside for. How could any board entertain a request to step aside without first knowing these things?
“Notwithstanding this position we are available to meet Jeff to establish whether, in the best interests of the club, a divisive and distracting campaign can be avoided.”
Speaking for the first time since Browne declared his intentions, Korda said the board was “really strong” in wanting to adhere to the current processes in place to appoint a president at Collingwood.
“Let’s remind everyone that the president is appointed by the board,” he said on Sportsday.
“I’m on there because of the board, we’re saying that if you want to become the president of the Collingwood Football Club, then there’s a process to go through.
Jeff (Browne) said that four of the board members should stand down so he could become president. The board is really strong on this, not one board member is going to stand down let alone four so that’s where we sit on this.
“At the end of the day he has to replace most of the board to become president.” Korda said a prospective EGM at the moment didn’t make any sense, especially in the current climate which sees Victoria under lockdown due to a fresh COVID outbreak.
“We have an (Annual General Meeting) after the season of which three of the seven directors are up for re-election and that’s a good time for the members to vote on any candidates,” he said.
“Having an EGM at the moment doesn’t make a lot of sense, we’re halfway through the season and our staff now is really trying to struggle with (the effects of) the COVID-19 (lockdown) and we don’t know what’s happening from one week to the next.
“Let’s just settle the place down, there’s an AGM at the end of the season and that’s the time and place for the members to have their voice on who should be the directors.”
Coach Nathan Buckley remains out of contract at the end of the season, with the Pies winning just two games so far this season to sit in 16th spot on the ladder.
Despite the uncertainty around the club at the moment, Korda said the decision on Buckley’s future will be made regardless of Browne’s push to become president. “We have a very good board and we will govern the Collingwood Football Club with proper governance,” he said.
“We will make the call on Nathan Buckley whether we’re being threatened or not, we will do whatever is in the best interest of the Collingwood Football Club.”
In a wide-ranging interview, Korda also said that he’d be disappointed if Collingwood weren’t back challenging for a premiership by 2024 or 2025.