Crime threats, nude pics and a Tinder date: Inside the AFL’s most secretive unit

A high-profile figure in the AFL industry was interstate when he received a phone call from the AFL Integrity and Security Unit. He had opened his home to a player who was struggling with personal issues and mounting financial problems, to help the player rebuild his life. It’s not unusual for officials, coaches and players to allow others going through a difficult period to stay with them.

The high-profile figure was informed that several men known to police in two black Maseratis were parked outside his house – lights on, engines running. But the player, who had accumulated a substantial debt, was not home at the time. His host’s family was.

Three sources with knowledge of the matter, granted anonymity to discuss security issues, said the integrity unit, acting on police intelligence, worked with authorities to relocate the family to alternative accommodation while the immediate risk was assessed. Beyond a small circle of police, AFL officials and the people directly affected, almost nobody knew the operation had taken place. This masthead has chosen not to identify the player, who continues his football career, or the industry figure to protect their safety, but the incident provides a rare glimpse into one aspect of the work undertaken by the AFL Integrity Unit.

“They support clubs to manage situations which never hit the headlines, some of it messy and difficult, other matters which are just important to the overall health of the game,” said one senior club official, granted anonymity to speak freely. “My experience is that they are professional, low-key and important.” Another said: “I would rate its [the unit’s] work as nine out of 10.”

However, an investigation by this masthead reveals concerns about the volume of work the integrity unit is stretched across, and whether it has veered too far from its original purpose, to protect the game and its people from the threat of corruption, doping and organised crime. The same senior officials who praise the unit’s work are also concerned that its credibility and the quality of its work will suffer due to the exploding workload, and wonder how much of their expertise is used to settle matters that have more to do with the code’s reputation than integrity. One competition source asked: “At what point as an employer do you have an overview of the moral conduct of employees?”

One of its investigations threatens to be unpicked in open court as part of a defamation case brought by Cate Sayers against her estranged husband Luke, former president of Carlton, who was cleared by the AFL of posting a “dick pic” on social media. How, many in the industry ask, did the AFL integrity unit become involved in a club official’s marital crisis? It’s no surprise that the sheer variety of issues falling on its desk can make it difficult to decide which ones to investigate.

This year alone it has probed why police visited Melbourne premiership player Steven May’s house, whether a Gold Coast Suns team manager with links to a gambling company should be around the team, Elijah Hollands’ movements before he played for Carlton on that fateful night in April, and whether homophobic language was used in the middle of a VFL game in Frankston. To say that is the tip of the iceberg is, to those who know, a massive understatement. In a rare public comments about the unit in response to questions from this masthead, the AFL acknowledged the huge increase in its responsibilities, which include the conduct of players and officials, anti-doping, wagering integrity, safeguarding, respect and responsibility, registration policies, major event security, risk and emergency management and intelligence functions across all levels of Australian football.

“Matters are assessed and managed in accordance with AFL rules, regulations, and policies, with regular reporting and oversight provided through the AFL’s governance framework. Any criminal matters are managed by the relevant state or territory police [law enforcement agency],” part of an AFL statement said. “The scale and complexity of the department’s responsibilities have grown significantly over time, especially at a community level, and we continue to look at our operating model to ensure it is best placed to protect people, competitions and the game.”

Scroll down to read the AFL statement in full. The unit, which has 13 full-time staff, undertakes hundreds of investigations annually and assesses more than 1500 intelligence reports each year, mostly relating to community football. The number of intelligence reports was much lower when the unit only concerned itself with registered officials across the AFL and AFLW.

But that changed after the 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse, which put the onus on organisations to become involved in child safeguarding across community sport, too. The AFL’s purchase of Marvel Stadium in 2016, and federal legislation relating to crowded spaces, had already increased the AFL’s respo