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NORTH Albury coach Jason Akermanis will need to tread carefully next season with two separate suspended sentences hanging over his head and the possibility of even more disciplinary action to come.
Controversy has followed the former Brisbane star and Brownlow medallist to the Ovens and Murray league.
He will begin a third season in charge of North Albury next year with a three-match suspended sentence following his latest tribunal hearing on Tuesday night.
Tribunal chairman Wayne Taylor and panel members Mark Schlink and Paul James found Akermanis guilty of conduct unbecoming after being investigated for breaching the cyber safety policy.
But a four-match suspension is effectively only a one-match ban after three weeks were suspended for 12 months.
In mid-July, Akermanis copped fines for slamming the tribunal’s decision to clear Wod-onga’s Sam Wortmann of striking him and commenting publicly before the tribunal case. He was fined $1000 on each, but half the amount was suspended until the end of next season.
The penalties were handed down a fortnight before he sent a batch of five videos to umpires boss Mark Bywater, blasting a series of incidents relating to umpiring in the round 15 North Albury- Wangaratta game.
A fortnight later, Akermanis sent two more videos punctuated with expletives to Bywater, which triggered the complaint from the AFL North-East Border commission.
Akermanis remains in the O and M spotlight over more comments he made about the competition being “rigged” during a radio interview.
They sparked angry responses from rival coaches Chris Kennedy and Simon Bone.
O and M general manager Aaron McGlynn has already stated that what Akermanis said on the radio would be considered by the board at its next meeting on Oct-ober 13.
