Collingwood confirms police has made contact with club over alleged murder Harry O'Brien witnessed

UPDATE: COLLINGWOOD will consult with experts over Harry O'Brien's situation after being contacted by Victorian police over the alleged murder he witnessed.

COLLINGWOOD will consult with experts about how to manage defender Harry O'Brien's situation after being contacted by Victorian police over the alleged murder he witnessed.

The Brazilian-born O'Brien revealed on Tuesday that while in Rio de Janeiro in 2011 he heard gunshots and watched a man die and had struggled to come to terms with the experience.

The Magpies don't have a timeline for his return to football and he will miss their clash with Adelaide at the MCG on Friday night.

Collingwood chief executive Gary Pert said club officials as well as O'Brien's "support team" would meet later on Thursday.

"Some contact has been made (from police) to the club and that contact has been made on a very respectful basis which is, how appropriate is it for Harry to be dealing with this," said Pert.

"In a lot of ways that's going to be determined by Harry's support team.

"We saw him articulate how emotional this was and Harry certainly needs to be in a mindset to deal with everything going on. This would be another layer so we'll be taking expert advice on that."

Teammate says footy is Harry's way out

On Wednesday Victoria's chief commissioner Ken Lay said the force would make contact with Collingwood about an alleged murder O’Brien witnessed.

Mr Lay said he felt for O’Brien, who is struggling to come to terms with the experience of hearing gunshots before watching a man die as he tried to flee the scene in Rio de Janeiro on Christmas Day in 2011.

He confirmed, however, Brazil’s police force has not been in contact.

"The Harry O’Brien situation, I really feel for, I really feel for - Harry’s obviously going through some really difficult circumstances so I don’t want to make any comment at all about the circumstances,’’ he told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell today.

"He’ll work his way through it but clearly there’s some conversations around something he may well have witnessed in Rio de Janeiro.

"We’ll probably have a talk to the football club and see if there’s anything that we can help with or understand that better".

Asked if Brazilian investigators had contacted Victoria Police he said: "No, not at all."

The force made an official statement about how it would go about dealing with sensitive issues troubling the Collingwood star.

"Victoria Police will make contact with Harry O’Brien and offer any assistance and advice we can."

Meanwhile, O'Brien has been made aware he must "buy in" to the Collingwood culture if he is to have a long-term future at the club.

The O'Brien saga came to a head with his dramatic statement about suffering a "very complicated history" of sexual abuse, suicide and depression.

O'Brien was welcomed back to the fold after he apologised to the coaching staff and players.

The club continues to offer counselling from psychologists and psychiatrists, and has promised to give O'Brien as much time and space as he needs.

But coach Nathan Buckley made it clear O'Brien was at the club to play football, and had to commit to the same values and professionalism of every other player.

"We are a side-by-side club that provides for all individuals, so long as those individuals are prepared to be side-by-side with the club," Buckley said.

Harry's issues can't compromise club

O'Brien is contracted until the end of next season, but it is clear his future depends on focusing on contributing to the next premiership.

He has been told his issues cannot "consume the club" as they have in the past week.

Collingwood refused to comment about the status of his contract.

Buckley said he had been aware of O'Brien's issues "since I have known him", but the club had no idea he would detail them so explicitly yesterday as he arrived back at the club.

The sexual abuse he spoke about is believed to have happened to a member of his family.

"I've been going through a history ... of things for a long time, including a long and very complicated history of sexual abuse, suicide, depression, seeing someone get murdered, knowing that who murdered that person and not being able to say anything, knowing that person will probably murder you," O'Brien said.

The Brazilian-born defender has previously detailed his stepfather's suicide, and the murder in Brazil.

O'Brien will stand down from the leadership group after a lengthy discussion with Buckley on Monday.

Buckley said he would make a decision on O'Brien's return in consultation with the player, but there is a feeling his absence from the team could stretch longer than a week.

"He's been through things I couldn't imagine"

harry obrien

O'Brien hid out with radio personality Scott Dooley in Sydney - not Port Douglas as was believed - at the weekend, having told the club he did not want his personal situation used as the reason for his absence against Carlton.

Buckley said the decision to share his issues might be a healing mechanism for O'Brien.

"I get the impression everyone thinks he is a basket case, he has been through some things I couldn't imagine, I couldn't imagine what that feels like," he said.

"I am sure that in time, with the support of the football club, he has carried these things for a long time and he feels that by sharing that, it shares the load a bit."

Captain Nick Maxwell said O'Brien was on the upswing after dealing with those personal issues in recent months.

"He is a lot happier at the moment than he has been for a long time."

Pies president Eddie McGuire said the club would leave no stone unturned to help O'Brien.

"This is all about trying to do the right thing, to get him back," he said.

"We have got the best doctors, the best psychiatrists, the best psychologists all working on the case."

The AFL players' union also said it was aware of O'Brien's personal issues before he revealed them publicly.

AFLPA chief executive Matt Finnis said his organisation had been helping O'Brien before the events of recent days.

O'Brien's Magpies teammate Luke Ball is president of the AFLPA.

"They weren't a shock because I've been aware that Harry's had some personal issues he's been dealing with for some time now,'' Finnis said today.

"Our association's been supporting him with that ... players are not immune from any of the vulnerabilities and fallibilities that you or I might suffer in society.

"What's best for Harry will be worked out between Harry and the experts around him and the footy club.

"One thing I am very confident of is that in a person like Nathan Buckley as coach, with peers like Luke Ball and (Magpies captain) Nick Maxwell, I'm sure Harry will get the support around him to make sure he's best placed to both deal with the issues off the field and get back to playing the great footy he has been."

If you are experiencing personal problems, call Lifeline on 131114 or go to beyondblue.org.au

- with Anthony Dowsley