Three Essendon District Football League clubs have come under investigation under the allowable player payments process.
In a statement on the EDFL website, the league confirmed a review was conducted of the allowable player payments process by an AFL Victoria accredited Integrity Officer into three premier division clubs, Aberfeldie, Essendon Doutta Stars and Pascoe Vale.
Last season was the first season leagues across the state enforced a salary cap, after the introduction of a player points system the previous season.
In the statement, EDFL chief executive Craig Armstead said: “For the 2017 season, the introduction of the allowable player payments system was always intended to be for educational purposes.
“The value of having an educational year was validated by the fact that errors were found with all three clubs. All clubs have been very co-operative and transparent throughout the process.
“However, there have been incorrect interpretations of the rules and procedural mistakes.”
In a statement online, Aberfeldie chairman Jim Pound said that “any alleged non-compliance relates to administrative rule interpretations on declared player payments”.
Pascoe Vale director of senior football Stuart Mitchell said the process concluded they hadn’t exceeded the playing budget and any errors were with lodging player payments,
