Incoming AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has backed two high-profile sports administrators despite their apparent involvement in hidden player payments.

Demetriou described Carlton president Ian Collins and Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland as top-class administrators.

The Herald Sun claimed Federal Court documents showed Collins and Sutherland helped disguise payments to former Carlton star Greg Williams to beat the salary cap.

The Australian Tax Office is investigating Williams over the payments, said to be worth $200,000.

The payments are said to have been made during the mid-1990s, when Collins was chief executive at Carlton and Sutherland finance officer.

Collins left the Blues to become the league's football operations manager and now runs Telstra Dome.

He also returned to the club last year to become president.

Sutherland is now Cricket Australia's chief executive.

"It was in an environment back then when people thought that was the norm," Demetriou told Sport 927 when asked about salary cap breaches.

"Certainly that's unfortunate, it doesn't happen now.

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