AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou says he will understand if football fans are questioning the value of contracts and commitment within the game after a bizarre day where one contracted coach replaced another.
Fremantle coach Mark Harvey was caught unawares when the club sacked him on Thursday in the middle of a list management meeting.
He was later replaced by St Kilda coach Ross Lyon, who walked out on the Saints later in the evening and was reported to be on his way to Perth on Friday morning ahead of a midday press conference at Fremantle.
Both coaches had one year left to run on their respective contracts.
Demetriou said he was also shocked by the remarkable turn of events and said it clearly raised questions about the strength of contracts.
"I was surprised because like many other people, it caught me blindside and I didn't realise this was all going on," he told 3AW on Friday morning.
"I think it is understandable that people are questioning the value of contracts and commitments and so forth.
"On balance, I think people are entitled to ask questions about issues of commitment, integrity. It's been a very strange 24 hours.
"I feel desperately for Mark Harvey obviously. He's an individual with a family and children and so forth, and I'm thinking about his welfare, and he's got another year of a contract to go.
AFL coaches' association Danny Frawley is on his way to Perth to deal with the fall-out from the situation, which has left Harvey shocked and reportedly devastated.
Frawley also expressed his disappointment and defended Harvey's record at Fremantle this season, where the club had a long injury list for most of the year.
"Given the injury rate at Fremantle this year, Mark did a remarkable job in keeping the team in contention until the very end of the season." Frawley said.
The AFLCA boss also said that payouts did little to make up for the lost opportunity of being sacked mid-contract.
"Regardless of contract payouts, coaches simply want to be given the opportunity to complete their tenure, in this case a two-year contract extension agreed upon only 12 months ago," Frawley said.
Demetriou said he understood if fans thought the scenario "reeked of hypocrisy", particularly when coaches asked players to commit to the club.
"People see through that. I'm not privy to what all the information is here but from an outsider looking in, I do understand why people would be scratching their heads this morning," he said
