‘Absolute disgrace’: Blues powerbroker rips club over family feud

Carlton has been torn to shreds as new details emerge about the bitter feud between the famous Silvagni family and the struggling club.

Billionaire Carlton powerbroker Bruce Mathieson has told Code Sports legendary fullback Stephen Silvagni was “dudded” during the club’s infamous salary cap scandal in 2002.

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Mathieson now says Silvagni, 58, and former president John Elliott fell out in the wake of the scandal — claiming the bitter rift continues to impact the football club.

Savage comments made by Mathieson come after Jack Silvagni’s announcement this week that he will explore his options in AFL free agency.

Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs have been widely linked with attempts to recruit the key defender, however, reports this week now suggest the 28-year-old could be headhunted by St Kilda.

Stephen Silvagni, a long-time recruitment boss and leading talent scout, has served as St Kilda’s list boss since 2023, having left the Blues in 2020.

The prospect of the champion defender bringing his son to the Saints would be a final kick in the guts for the Blues.

Jack on Thursday penned an emotional letter to Carlton fans, explaining why he intends to leave the club this off-season.

After 10 years and 128 games with Carlton, Jack’s departure would close the book on the sad conclusion of almost seven decades of family history at Princes Park dating back to his grandfather Sergio.

Mathieson told Code Sports the situation began when Elliott “f***ed the club”.

“The way the Silvagni family has been treated is a disgrace. An absolute disgrace,” Mathieson said.

“The Silvagnis were always about performance. They never let anyone down. They were loyal and they put their heart and soul into it. And a lot of other people haven’t been as loyal as the Silvagnis, I’ll tell you.”

The sad rift has played out publicly for more than 20 years and it returned to headlines in 2023 when it emerged Stephen Silvagni had rejected the club’s offer for him to enter the club’s dressing rooms during Jack’s 100th game celebration.

The Silvagnis are synonymous with the Carlton Football Club, and the family have had a strong presence at Princes Park dating back to the early 1950s, with three generations of the family wearing the navy blue No. 1 jumper.

The legend known as “SOS” played 312 games for the club and was named Carlton’s “fullback of the century”.

His father Sergio also played 239 games for the Blues and is a club icon.

But now the long history of Silvagni family members running out in the navy blue is at an end after 679 VFL/AFL games across 40 seasons.

Veteran journalist Caroline Wilson said Jack’s tenure at the club caused even further rifts between the two parties.

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“There’s a view from the Silvagni camp that he has been really poorly treated at Carlton and disrespected and dropped at times and been asked to play a number of positions,” Wilson said on 3AW.

“It’s taken a while for them to settle on him as what he should’ve been all along, which is a great defender.”

Wilson revealed details of the club’s fight to entice Jack to stick around, with chief executive Graham Wright joining the campaign.

“I think Graham Wright is genuinely concerned for Jack. He would know this would be something that is absolutely tearing him in two about what he is going to do,” she said on Seven’s Agenda Setters.

“For some people this would be unthinkable.”

Former Collingwood and Carlton player Dale Thomas said Blues fans had every right to be furious with the club.

“He’s been last in, first out so many times, he’s been played as a forward, then put in the ruck, put the shin pad on, used as a tagger and then settled down back,” Thomas said on the Agenda Setters.

“The fans are in such uproar because they know when they come to the footy … he’s bringing maximum effort, he plays with the heart and soul you want in a footballer.”

With Jack now out the door and awaiting a new home, the long-running history of the Silvagni family at Princes Park appears well and truly over.