PROMINENT player manager Liam Pickering and colleague James Pitcher have been reprimanded for breaches of AFLPA regulations that include purporting to act for players without a valid representation agreement.
The AFLPA announced on Friday its agents accreditation board had met last week to consider the findings of an investigation it commissioned into events surrounding Pickering and Pitcher's bitter split with former business partner Jason Sourasis.
Sourasis issued Supreme Court proceedings against Pickering and Pitcher in the wake of their split, while Pickering and Pitcher issued a counterclaim of their own.
The case ended earlier this year, with Justice Michael Sifris ruling in favour of Sourasis on some issues and in favour of Pickering and Pitcher on others. In summary, Justice Sifris said both parties had "won and lost".
The agents board upheld the findings of their investigator, James Gallagher, that Pickering and Pitcher had breached the agents regulations by:
- Purporting to act for players without valid representation agreements.
- Breaching their duties under the Corporations Act to the company they previously held roles as employees (Strategic Management) and, in Pickering's case, as a director.
The board found Sourasis had not breached the agents regulations during the dissolution of his partnership with Pickering and Pitcher because he was not an accredited agent at the time.
Sourasis has since become an accredited agent, and the board considered whether he was not a fit and proper person to represent players, but ruled the facts did not support such a finding.
The AFLPA said in deciding to reprimand Pickering and Pitcher the board had considered:
- Pickering's and Pitcher's conduct related largely to their business dealings with Sourasis and their former company.
- The agents regulations and code of conduct’s primary focus is to ensure that players' interests are protected.
- There has been no complaint by any player as to the conduct of Pickering or Pitcher, nor has it been shown that any player has suffered detriment as a result of their conduct.
- Although Pickering and Pitcher had in some cases acted for players without a valid representation agreement, this occurred where the agents had previously entered into a valid agreement with the relevant player or had taken steps to do so.
- Pickering's and Pitcher's previous good records as accredited agents over a long period.
- Pickering and Pitcher have been subjected to media reports that were found by the Press Council to be an inaccurate representation of the outcome of the proceedings.
Pickering and Pitcher split from Sourasis and Strategic Management towards the end of 2013.
Pickering and Pitcher later founded player management firm, Precision Sports and Entertainment Group, whose clients include Jack Riewoldt, Gary Ablett, Tom Boyd, Daniel Talia and Jacob Weitering.
Sourasis has retained some of the clients Pickering and Pitcher brought to Strategic Management, most notably club captains Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood) and Jack Ziebell (North Melbourne).
Members of the agent accreditation board include AFL TPP assurance manager Ken Wood, player agents Tom Petroro and Peter Lenton, Melbourne player Tom McDonald and AFLPA player relations manager Brett Murphy.
Pickering told AFL.com.au he understood the agents board had a job to do and thought its decision was "pretty fair".
Pickering said, however, he had no other option than to end his business relationship with Sourasis.
"I had no choice but to move the players, to protect them as much as anything else," Pickering said.
Sourasis preferred not to comment when contacted by AFL.com.au.
