"I will only be there if I'm a positive force and not a negative one," he said on Triple M on Tuesday morning. Collingwood CEO Gary Pert has resigned. Credit:Darrian Traynor "At the moment I have been a negative force for the past few days, but I will work hard." Holden spokesman Sean Poppitt told Fairfax Media on Monday night the company was "hugely unhappy and extremely disappointed" with McGuire's comments on Triple M about The Age's chief football writer Caroline Wilson. McGuire said he would be willing to pay $50,000 to see Wilson "stay under" a pool of icy water and would charge an extra $10,000 for "everyone to stand around the outside and bomb her".

The segment was part of Triple M's coverage of the "Big Freeze" event at the MCG on the Queen's Birthday public holiday, which raised more than $2 million for motor neurone disease research. Chairman of Holden, Mark Bernhard. Credit:Arsineh Houspian McGuire said on Tuesday he could understand Holden's position as one of the club's major backers. "They're entitled to it," he said. Eddie McGuire's sexist comments have been criticised by Malcolm Turnbull. Credit:Darrian Traynor

"They put their name to the club. I hope we can work through the situation." Holden is one of four premier sponsors of Collingwood. The car maker has naming rights over Collingwood's headquarters at Olympic Park, known as the Holden Centre.​ Pies coach Nathan Buckley with the Holden logo on his shirt. Credit:James Boddington Holden is engaging with Collingwood to express our disappointment personally and discuss the future of our sponsorship. Holden spokesman Sean Poppitt "Holden categorically disapproves of Eddie McGuire's inappropriate comments, along with those of his co-hosts," Mr Poppitt said.

"Holden prides itself on diversity, inclusion and social responsibility – they are cornerstones of our business and culture. Comments like these, regardless of their intent, have no place in today's Australia and reflect poorly on the Collingwood Football Club, its fans, stakeholders and sponsors. Senior sports journalist Caroline Wilson. Credit:Justin McManus "Unfortunately, it can call into question the culture of the club, overshadowing good work done in the diversity space and local communities. "Holden is engaging with Collingwood to express our disappointment personally and discuss the future of our sponsorship." Another Collingwood sponsor, CGU, said it was disappointed with McGuire's behaviour but would not alter its sponsorship.

It said in a statement: "CGU's sponsorship is with the Collingwood football club and its players, not individuals, and while there will be no changes to our sponsorship arrangement, we have spoken to the club to express our disappointment." It is understood Collingwood and Holden are desperately trying to arrange a meeting with the footy club's chief executive Gary Pert and Holden boss Mark Bernhard, who are both overseas. The Collingwood board censured its president on Monday night. "The very clear view of the board of Collingwood is that there is no place in our community for the support of violent behaviour or language, even in humour," it said in a statement. Holden is currently a second-tier or platinum sponsor of Collingwood. It is believed to be worth more than $3 million annually - one of the biggest club sponsorship deals in Australian sport. Collingwood's coach Nathan Buckley also has a Holden logo on his collar in all media appearances. In 2008, the ANZ bank withdrew advertising from The Footy Show in a protest against its attitude towards women.

The decision was made after the infamous stunt in which Footy Show co-host Sam Newman manhandled a lingerie-clad mannequin he dressed up as Caroline Wilson. The bank directed that its ads not be aired during the program. This prompted a group of the AFL's most influential women to sign a letter of complaint to Nine boss David Gyngell calling for the cast and crew of The Footy Show to receive counselling on their attitude towards women. Newman responded by saying the signatories to the letter were "liars and hypocrites" and that women board members in football served "very little purpose".