Tania Hird, the wife of suspended Essendon coach James, has stood by her comments on the ABC's 7.30 Report that the Bombers were tipped off by AFL Chief Executive Andrew Demetriou about the ASADA drugs scandal.
Essendon's hierarchy will meet on Friday to discuss the future of suspended coach James Hird following explosive claims made by his wife Tania on the ABC's 7.30 Report on Thursday night.
Tania Hird, the wife of James Hird, has dropped a bombshell early in Andrew Demetriou's farewell season, claiming the AFL boss did tip Essendon off prior to last year's ASADA investigation.
Suspended coach James Hird joins The Hangar for a candid discussion on the support from Essendon fans, his relationship with Mark Bomber Thompson and how he will spend the next few months on the sidelines from the AFL.
James and Tania Hird pictured in 2013. Source: Supplied
Tania Hird says Andrew Demetriou tipped Essendon off. Picture: David Caird Source: News Limited
TANIA Hird has defended explosive allegations she made about Andrew Demetriou on ABC's 7.30 show on Thursday, insisting she had to stand up for her husband.
Speaking on Friday morning, James Hird's wife said she felt the need to defend his reputation.
"Hysteria's been allowed to mount on the basis of things that are just not accurate," she said.
"We're still waiting to see anything of substance.
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"Moving on was part of the reason that we took the sanction at the end but people aren't moving on.
"People are saying we should move on but every day I read someone saying James was an irresponsible official or James shouldn't come back and coach becasue of what he saw, what he did. It's totally inaccurate
"There comes a point that I, as the wife, I'm just sick of the wrong thing being written about my husband.
"He is such a caring, loving, wonderful person, he really is a fabulous person, he's not vain, he's not arrogant ... that is so far from the type of person that he is."
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Earlier, Essendon chairman Paul Little expressed his disappointment after Tania Hird declared her husband James was a scapegoat in the AFL drugs saga and revived the explosive allegation that Demetriou tipped off the club.
Eddie McGuire asked Little on Triple M this morning if it was becoming more untenable for Hird to return to Essendon as coach.
"Up until the events of the last 24 hours we believed that James was acting and responding to our requests in a positive way," Little said on Triple M's The Hot Breakfast.
Little denied that Hird has been sacked, but said the club would be discussing his future today.
"The club will have to meet now to determine how we go forward in relation to the James Hird issue and probably the broader group that surrounds James," Little said.
After the interview, host Eddie McGuire said: "I'll make a bold prediction, I don't think we'll see James Hird coach Essendon again."
CLICK HERE TO READ A TRANSCRIPT OF THE PAUL LITTLE INTERVIEW
Essendon chairman Paul Little says Tania Hird's comments on Thursday night's 7.30 report on the ABC were 'disappointing' and 'less than helpful' as the club once again was sent into crisis mode
Outgoing AFL chief Demetriou strenuously denies the "tip-off" claim, first raised in July last year, that he spoke to then-Bombers chairman David Evans shortly before Essendon came under ASADA and league investigation.
Speaking on 3AW radio this morning, Demetriou said he was disappointed by the Tania Hird interview which he said was just another distraction in the long-running saga.
"This issue is not about any individual, this is about a regime, a system where young men were being injected with substances, some of which are unknown, some of which we know are banned for use in humans, and we put a stop to that, that shouldn't be forgotten," Demetriou said.
He said Hird's future was "a decision for the club".
Essendon's hierarchy will meet on Friday to discuss the future of suspended coach James Hird following explosive claims made by his wife Tania on the ABC's 7.30 Report on Thursday night.
"Hearing Paul's voice (in the interview with McGuire this morning) - there's a tremendous amount of frustration," Demetriou said.
"I have a lot of sympathy for the Essendon supporters and the club.
"The last thing they want to be talking about is (the Tania Hird) interview.
"People are fatigued by this issue. We need to move forward."
Demetriou flatly denied "for the 125th time" Tania Hird's claims he tipped Essendon off.
"She's not the first one, I've heard that before," he said.
"It's impossible (that I tipped off Essendon) when I wasn't privy to the information, I didn't have access to it. I stand by my reputation."
CLICK HERE TO READ A TRANSCRIPT OF THE DEMETRIOU INTERVIEW
Should Essendon sack James Hird?
Tania Hird, who is a lawyer, said she was listening on a speakerphone when her husband spoke to Evans on July 25.
"I was taking notes - I take a lot of notes,'' she told the ABC's 7.30.
"David admitted that he said to James, 'Go into ASADA and tell the whole truth, but don't say what Andrew Demetriou told us'.
"It has been referred to as the tip-off.
"James did say in return 'if I'm not asked about it, I won't offer it up, but if I'm asked about it, like anything I'm asked about, I will answer it honestly and truthfully and to the best of my knowledge'.''
Her claims were broadcast last night, a day before Essendon start their season against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.
Tania Hird, the wife of James Hird, has dropped a bombshell early in Andrew Demetriou's farewell season, claiming the AFL boss did tip Essendon off prior to last year's ASADA investigation.
Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna told SEN on Friday that the Hirds would have been better off staying silent on the eve of the footy season if they really want to act in the best interests of the club.
"You just need to bring all the parties together, sit across a table and say, 'We need to work this out'," he said.
"One of those is getting a fair few buttons out there and putting (them) on a fair few lips, and just shut up.
"God there is a football season about to start for your football club - if you love it that much, just button it.
"You might feel aggrieved, you might feel slighted, you might feel your reputation's tarnished, whatever the case may be, it's for the greater good of your football club.
"I would think you would just take your time off, do what you have to do, then sit down in cooler heads and have a conversation about it and get it right, because ultimately, the club is bigger than the individual."
Former Brisbane coach Michael Voss also blasted the latest developments as "completely inappropriate".
"It would be the last thing I would want as 'Bomber' Thompson, sitting here, you've gone through everything that you have gone through in the last 12 months, and on the eve of the season, when it should be about Essendon and their new season and 2014, it is now about James Hird again," he told SEN.
"I don't think that's right."
Suspended coach James Hird joins The Hangar for a candid discussion on the support from Essendon fans, his relationship with Mark Bomber Thompson and how he will spend the next few months on the sidelines from the AFL.
In late July last year, Evans suddenly resigned from Essendon because of health issues and a month later Hird received a 12-month suspension from the AFL.
Essendon remains under ASADA investigation.
Last July, the Herald Sun reported that Demetriou spoke to Essendon officials on February 4, the night before the Bombers announced they would come under AFL and ASADA investigation.
Demetriou denies discussing with Evans a confidential Australian Crime Commission report that the AFL had received a few days previously.
The AFL boss adds no specific club was mentioned in the ACC briefing.
"We were told prior to the announcement that there was going to be an investigation into Essendon involving performance enhancing drugs or supplements,'' Tania Hird said.
"We were told that at a time when we shouldn't have been told that.''
The AFL declined to comment about Tania Hird's claim.
She added her husband only agreed to his 12-month suspension because of bullying from AFL officials.
Hird is now in France on a study trip, with Tania and their children to join him later this month.
"He didn't plead to any breach of the player rules, he wasn't found guilty of any breach of the player rules,'' she said.
"In the end it was the threats and bullying of the AFL to the club and to himself.
"It is a really great game, but at the moment it is an industry where there are a lot of people who are frightened about speaking the truth, about speaking their mind.''
Hird's AFL suspension ends in August.
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