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Former Etihad Stadium executive Nick Sautner has had his case for unfair dismissal against the operators of Melbourne's Etihad Stadium overruled in the Federal Court.

Sautner was made redundant by Melbourne Stadiums Limited (MSL), the operator of Etihad Stadium, in June 2013 after it was alleged he had traded venue tickets for private benefit – exchanging Etihad Stadium Medallion Club tickets for goods and services, including meat from a butcher, a car battery, flowers for his girlfriend and ‘mates’ rates’ for building works on his house.

Last year, he successfully argued in a lower court that he had used the tickets appropriately and was awarded a $150,000 redundancy payout. However, MSL has now undertaken a successful appeal with the Federal Court overturning the earlier ruling and denying the redundancy payout.

The Federal Court also heard that Saunter had undertaken a campaign to discredit Etihad Stadium Chief Executive Paul Sergeant by claiming that Sergeant drank too much, criticising his dress sense and claiming that he had fallen asleep during meetings.

The full bench of the Federal Court found that “it was open to (Etihad Stadium) to justify its failure to give effect to the termination provisions in the employment contract by reliance on Mr Sautner’s earlier breaches.”

Sautner, a former Victorian Football League star, was employed in various roles at Etihad Stadium over 12 years, progressing to the position of Chief Commercial Officer/General Manager until 2013. He is now Chief Operating Officer for the West Australian Football Commission.

After the Federal Court verdict, MSL released the following statement: "The Federal Court handed down its decision yesterday regarding Melbourne Stadium Limited's (MSL) appeal against the 2014 decision of the County Court.

“MSL appealed against that decision because it considered that Nicholas Sautner engaged in serious and wilful misconduct whilst employed here at Etihad Stadium.

"The Federal Court’s ruling in favour of MSL is welcomed by us and we look forward to putting this matter behind us and focussing on another busy and exciting year of events at Etihad Stadium."

Image shows Nick Saunter during his VFL playing days.

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