St Kilda Football Club can confirm that a file containing audio from the coaches' box during last week's official AFL practice game against Essendon was uploaded to a league-wide shared folder in error on Saturday morning.
As soon as the club was made aware some hours later, the file was immediately taken down and replaced with the muted version, as is standard protocol.
"This upload occurred through human error, which was corrected as soon as we were notified," Acting General Manager of Football David Misson said.
“There is no certainty that this file has been accessed and downloaded by anybody, however, regardless of the low risk, we wanted to be on the front foot and proactive in our response.
“Our focus is on creating a program with high integrity, open communication and care for our people.
“As a matter of course, we addressed this issue directly with our playing group.
“As part of our response, we also alerted the AFL and relevant key stakeholders.
“We feel that this matter has now been resolved and our focus remains on our preparations for the season ahead.
“The club has also taken the opportunity to review its broader processes to reduce the likelihood of this error occurring again.”