THE AFL Players' Association (AFLPA) says it is "extremely disappointed" with St Kilda's termination of Andrew Lovett's three-year contract and may yet pursue legal action.

A day after Lovett, 27, was charged by Victoria Police with one count of rape, the Saints sacked their off-season recruit, deeming he had breached the club's code of conduct on several occasions.

Lovett was suspended indefinitely by the Saints upon news of the Christmas Eve allegations against him, preventing him from training with his teammates or having any other involvement with his new club.

The exclusion encouraged Lovett to lodge an official grievance notice with St Kilda early this month, in line with the League's collective bargaining agreement.

AFLPA chief executive Matt Finnis said in a statement on Tuesday evening that the grievance procedure should have been allowed to run its full course.

"The AFL and AFLPA have agreed to a grievance resolution procedure which seeks to resolve disputes between players and clubs in good faith," he said.

"We expect that clubs and players will respect this procedure and use their best endeavours to resolve issues between them via this system.

"St Kilda's decision is, in our view, inconsistent with this principle and has the potential to undermine the commitment of players to the established codes and procedures for dealing with disciplinary matters and disputes within the AFL industry."

Finnis added that the rights of AFL players should reflect those of employees within a workplace.

"Notwithstanding the nature of their work or their profiles, AFL players ought be able to rely upon basic principles of fairness and due process before being subjected to disciplinary action," he said.

"We have serious concerns as to whether Andrew's legal rights have been respected and will further consult with his legal representatives to address this concern in coming days."

Lovett, who played 88 games in five seasons with Essendon, will face Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday.