Melbourne midfielder Jake Melksham has been fined for misleading AFL investigators conducting a gambling probe.
Melksham was slapped with a $10,000 sanction after he was found to have given misleading answers to questions about his betting account.
An investigation was launched after it appeared a third party had been using the account even though the betting activity wasn't related to the AFL.
The probe has since been closed with no further action taken but the league was clearly unhappy with Melksham's responses.
"It is crucial for the integrity of the competition that participants in the AFL give honest evidence in the course of investigations under the AFL rules," AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon said.
"Jake has acknowledged his mistake in this case, is genuinely remorseful and will assist us to deliver this message in the future to players coming into the AFL competition."
Melksham was fined for a breach of AFL Rule 2.5 (c) that states "a person must not ... give any false or misleading evidence to any hearing, investigation, inquiry or appeal conducted under the AFL Rules and Regulations."
The betting activity in question took place in June last year as the 25-year-old served a season-long doping ban.
"Although Jake has been cleared of any wrongdoing, relating to the betting activity ... his mistake was not presenting all the information to the AFL investigators at the time of initial contact," Melbourne football boss Josh Mahoney said.
"He accepts his sanction on that front.
"All players and staff, when asked to be involved in an AFL investigation, must take them seriously and provide all the information when required.
"Jake is genuinely remorseful about his mistake and as a club, we will continue to support and educate all our players on the importance of these matters."
