Collingwood president Eddie McGuire says he would like to fine Dane Swan $25,000 even though he has no problem with what his star midfielder said in a televised interview.
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The Magpies fined their Brownlow medallist for taking part in an interview for Channel Nine's The Footy Show that was not authorised by the club.
In Thursday night's interview Swan refuted rumours he had a drug problem.
McGuire said he had no issue with what was said, but was critical that the program he hosted for 12 years "plotted" to arrange the interview - for which, he claimed, Swan was paid $25,000 - with the player’s manager, Liam Pickering, without notifying Collingwood.
He was also upset that neither Swan or Pickering officially informed the club the interview was to take place.
McGuire angered rival club Melbourne last year when he interviewed Liam Jurrah without request, but on Friday said he wanted to dock Swan his entire payment for the pre-recorded interview because The Footy Show and Pickering had "jumped over" protocol.
"I'll give you the tip now: it won't happen at Collingwood again," McGuire said on his Triple M morning program.
"Because every player who does not follow protocol at Collingwood - and I would speak for every club now - is going to get blistered and blistered hard.
"And I'll tell you the other thing: the fines will go up. This [maximum] five grand fine for players, the AFL is onto this. It's going to go through the roof because people are snubbing it [following protocol].
"In fact, if I could make [Swan's fine] 25 grand, I'd make it 25 grand to make the point. This is where the players' association has got to pull its head in if blokes are getting paid overs on these things, they're going to go against the clubs and do things.
"Protocols are going to be big. It's protocol that got Essendon in trouble."
Swan's fine is understood to be smaller than the maximum $5000 clubs can fine their players, but follows last year's sanction when the Magpies suspended their three-time best and fairest winner for two games for drinking alcohol in the lead-up to a game.
Collingwood says it became aware of the interview after it was recorded, and withdrew Luke Ball from Thursday night's panel because it thought unfair the midfielder would have to answer questions after Swan's interview was broadcast.
McGuire last year interviewed Jurrah for his Foxtel program after the Demons forward had been charged with assault, but claimed he had been invited to speak with his subject.
He was later unrepentant and said Melbourne had been aware he was covering the Jurrah story. He said last year: "I'd do the same next week and the week after that. That’s what the audience can expect every week. Breaking news and breaking stories. Just like the old days."
On Friday McGuire denied he was being hypocritical in criticising the deal struck to get Swan and the lead-up to his interview with Jurrah.
"The difference was I was invited by Liam Jurrah into his household by both him and his grandmother and his associates, I didn't pay for the interview, I rang the club and let them know," he said.
McGuire said Nine would have been allowed to interview Swan had it requested to do so, but called on The Footy Show to disclose paid interviews. Interviews with Mick Malthouse when he was coaching Collingwood in 2011 and forward Travis Cloke last year caused significant fall-out at the club.
"I'd like to know if there’s been $100,000 spent on interviews [with] Collingwood players that if you'd rung up and gone through the protocol you would have got for nothing," he said.
The Footy Show host Garry Lyon said on Thursday night it was the program's protocol to go through player managers to arrange interviews and have managers notify clubs.
Pickering and the AFLPA have been sought for comment.
