The Keilor Football Club is devastated by the outcome handed down by the EDFL at a meeting with the League on Tuesday Night.
The club was charged with a breach in the player payment rules and the outcomes are below;
• Stripped of the 2023 EDFL Senior Men’s Premiership.
• Reduction in club salary cap of 15% for the 2025, 2026 & 2027 seasons.
• Fined $50,000, with $20,000 of the $50,000 suspended pending compliance by Keilor FC with the EDFL Player Payment Rules for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 football seasons.
• The Club will have to pay for independent auditors to conduct season reviews at the conclusion for the 2025 & 2026 seasons.
The Keilor Football Club has been completely open & transparent to the EDFL, AFL VIC and independent auditors, from the beginning of this investigation.
The club would like to provide further details surrounding our charges to provide context to our members, sponsors and supporters;
• Exceeding the Allowable Player Payment limit of $100,000 by a total amount of $605 in the 2022 season; and
• Exceeding the Allowable Player Payment limit of $110,000 by a total amount of $45,100 in the 2023 season.
While we acknowledge the administrative error in timing of payments that led to this situation & breach, we want to assure our community, that the player payments for the 2024 season were well under the allowable player payment limit, and have been approved by AFL Integrity Auditor as part of this investigation.
We would also like to confirm that all charges listed, had previously been ticked off and approved late in 2023, after we were originally reviewed by AFL VIC appointed review panel.
We want to be clear, that despite this outcome, we do not believe we benefited in any way above the competition and all other competing clubs.
In the League statement overnight, it noted;
“We will acknowledge Keilor FC’s excellent cooperation and full disclosure throughout the Integrity Review and Player Payment Disciplinary Committee Hearing.
We also acknowledge that the Club’s breaches were not dishonest or wilful.”
The Keilor Football Club takes pride in its leadership, integrity and passion for local sport and community involvement. We are run & operated by a wide variety dedicated volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure that our club is run and operates to the levels that we do.
While these sanctions are a setback, they will not define us. We remain committed to competing on the field with respect for the rules and guidelines of our competitions.
We will not be making any further public statements or comment further on the matter.
Shaun Morris – Keilor Football Club President
