Nixon recruitment drive on hold

CONTROVERSIAL Australian Rules agent Ricky Nixon, currently in Ireland, may not be in a position to recruit any players while he is investigated for an alleged affair with a 17-year-old girl.

The AFL wants Nixon to stand down while the matter is being investigated. The sports agent has been involved in the recruitment of several Gaelic footballers to the Australian game and his recent arrival in Ireland is being linked to the upcoming Sigerson Cup tournament, which would showcase potential recruits.

However, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou says Nixon should stand down during the investigation process, and this would impact on his ability to offer players contracts to play Australian Rules.

“I think at the moment Ricky Nixon fully understands that he has to face the issues here,” Demetriou said, adding that until that process was completed, Nixon should not continue in his role as an Australian Football League Players’ Association (AFLPA)-accredited player manager.

Nixon’s career is in the balance after the AFLPA announced that David Galbally QC would conduct an investigation into Nixon’s alleged affair with the teenage girl; the agent is expected to e-mail his answers from Ireland to questions raised in that investigation.

The girl herself is at the centre of controversy involving the St Kilda AFL club, having released nude pictures of some of the club’s players recently.