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Leigh Matthews has distanced himself from a supporter group championing the AFL legend and calling for the heads of the warring Brisbane directors at the Lions’ upcoming emergency general meeting (EGM).
A two-month-old boardroom stoush between chairman Angus Johnson and a rival ticket featuring Matthews is expected to be decided at the EGM on November 13.
The date was confirmed after a Lions general board meeting on Wednesday – almost two weeks after the initial deadline.
Johnson has not revealed what resolutions he will present but it is believed the EGM will feature a vote on making life members eligible to join the board, opening the door for Matthews.
But Lions supporter group Restore The Lions’ Pride (RTLP) reiterated that there should be a board spill and everyone involved in the stoush – Johnson’s board and dissident directors Paul Williams and Mick Power – be ousted.
If that did not happen at the EGM, RTLP spokesman Henry Pinskier said they would “be forced to petition for another meeting to give members a chance for change”.
“This is the antithesis of how a board should operate,” Pinskier, a Fitzroy director from 1991-93, told AAP.
He claimed to have received “an amazing response” after emailing members, supporters and ex-players calling for expressions of interest to run for board positions.
The only person involved in the current board fight which RTLP have endorsed is life member Matthews who has been blocked from running on the Williams-Power ticket by the board’s legal advice.
However, Matthews made his stance on RTLP clear on Wednesday.
“I have had nil contact with this Pinksier (sic) bloke, whatever he thinks he’s doing has absolutely nothing to do with me,” the AFL legend tweeted.
Power and Williams fell out with Johnson over the handling of coach Michael Voss’ sacking in August and the failure to secure premiership-winning Sydney mentor Paul Roos.
The AFL had stepped in to encourage mediation between the warring parties and reportedly presented a proposal for a compromise board on Tuesday, only for Johnson to call the EGM.
Pinskier believed Matthews was the key and was adamant the club could not move forward if any of the warring parties remained after the EGM.
“Clearly their working relationship has broken down with a lot of bitterness displayed on both sides and it has only been to the detriment of the club,” he said.
Johnson on Tuesday took aim at Power and Williams in a letter written to members and posted on the Lions website, accusing them of not acting in the club’s best interests.
Influential supporters’ group The Lions Roar spokesman James Kliemt said they were “cautiously optimistic” ahead of the EGM.
“But we don’t know what the EGM is going to be asking yet,” he told AAP.
Kliemt also backed Matthews as a board member but could not see anyone on the wrong side of a board spill remaining at the club.
“But there have been so many twists and turns in this story already,” he said.
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