Brendan Fevola faces battles on two fronts over the circulation of a nude photo of model Lara Bingle after the AFL launched an investigation into his conduct.

Brisbane's star recruit - already set to be sued by Bingle over the shower snap taken during their 2006 affair - is being questioned by the AFL, as are Lions officials.

The league's football operations manager Adrian Anderson said it was too early to say whether Fevola could face suspension or any other sanction.

But he stressed the AFL regarded it as "completely unacceptable" for anyone to take a compromising photo of a woman without her consent and share it around.

"I'm not going to go into sanctions at this particular point in time, because I think the important thing is to establish the facts in this case," Anderson said on Wednesday.

"There have been some court proceedings that have been foreshadowed and we'll monitor those as well.

"But at the end of the day, the basic principle of respect towards women requires that there aren't photos taken without their consent that are then circulated."

Anderson declined to say whether the AFL would also talk to Bingle or representatives of Fevola's former club Carlton, saying the first step was to talk to the player himself and his current club.

It is embarrassing timing for the league, with Anderson making his comments at a federal government funding announcement for programs promoting respect and responsibility towards women, including a scheme for AFL players.

Federal Minister for the Status of Women Tanya Plibersek, who announced the funding, said the photo's dissemination was "not the sort of behaviour that society in general considers acceptable".

Lions coach Michael Voss on Tuesday said the club would not punish Fevola over the incident and accepted his explanation that he hadn't sent the picture to anyone since he signed with Brisbane late last year.

Fevola is being sued by Bingle after the picture of her in the shower appeared in Woman's Day this week.

It is the latest in a history of off-field indiscretions which caused his former club Carlton to offload him.

The tipping point for the Blues was his drunken antics after last September's Brownlow Medal night, which led to sexual assault allegations being levelled against him.

Anderson said last October the league took those allegations "extremely seriously" and a player found to have sexually assaulted a woman would be hit with a long suspension.

But he also said the AFL's ability to act against Fevola depended on the woman who was the subject of those allegations coming forward, which she has so far declined to do.

Anderson said on Wednesday that incident would not affect the current investigation.

"The priority is just to ascertain the facts concerning this issue and background doesn't come into that," he said.

He declined to say whether it would be a factor in any potential sanction.

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