MELBOURNE Storm has been stripped of two NRL titles and three minor premierships for rorting the salary cap system in an unprecedented day for rugby league in Australia.
The club has been found guilty of running two separate books, one detailing the players contracts showing they were complying with the NRL's salary cap and a second file that detailed payments made to players that should have been declared to NRL auditors.
It was found Melbourne had cheated the cap by $1.7 million over the last five years, including approximately $700,000 in 2010.
“The elaborate lengths they went to hide the payments was quite extraordinary.” NRL chief executive David Gallop told a stunned press conference in Sydney this afternoon to announce the stiff penalties for the salary cap breaches going back five years.
The club has been one of the most successful in the league since entering the competition in 1998 and has appeared in the last four grand finals in a row, winning in 2007 over Manly and 2009 over Parramatta.
Those premierships and the money won there as well as the cash paid for winning the minor premiership from 2006-2008 will now be divided between the 15 other clubs.
Gallop said neither Manly nor Parramatta would be awarded the premierships for 2007 and 2009 and the record books would simply show that the NRL titles were stripped for those years. Melbourne's initial premiership in 1999 will remain.
Gallop said that Storm officials had confessed to paying players outside the NRL salary cap.
John Hartigan, chairman of News Ltd, publisher of The Australian, said several administrators involved in the fraudulent behaviour had been sacked.
“News doesn't tolerate behaviour like this. I feel sick to my stomach,” Hartigan said. “While the penalties are unprecedented, I believe they are warranted.”
News has propped up Storm financially since it came into the league.
Melbourne has been stripped of its eight competition points from four wins so far for 2010 and will not be given any further competition points this season.
It is the biggfest salary rort for the NRL.
In 2002 the Bulldogs were stripped of 37 competition points and fined $500,000 for being $1 million over the cap that year, which was $3.25 million.
The current salary cap for all 16 clubs is $4.25 million.
Caveats apply as it is entirely possible that the information contained in the above post is either an attempt at a wind-up, an attempt at a joke or just plain wrong.
Why aren't players on the hook? That would be the easiest way of stamping it out. Players declare their income to the governing body and it's compared against clubs. They must have had 2nd contracts if their fake contracts were sent into NRL.
ronk wrote:Why aren't players on the hook? That would be the easiest way of stamping it out. Players declare their income to the governing body and it's compared against clubs. They must have had 2nd contracts if their fake contracts were sent into NRL.
And why should employees be expected to carry out administrative duties of their employer. Should you undertake declaring your earnings so Revenue can make sure tax and PRSI is spot on...Dont think so.
An honest and proper corporate culture is whats required.
"I don't do desserts"
Gary Brown Fundamentalist Supporters' Front
The Front Lives on
ronk wrote:Why aren't players on the hook? That would be the easiest way of stamping it out. Players declare their income to the governing body and it's compared against clubs. They must have had 2nd contracts if their fake contracts were sent into NRL.
And why should employees be expected to carry out administrative duties of their employer. Should you undertake declaring your earnings so Revenue can make sure tax and PRSI is spot on...Dont think so.
An honest and proper corporate culture is whats required.
Ever heard of a P60 form? Revenue do it for you in reverse.
I thought it would be entirely normal that professional players with restrictions on their contracts have their contracts registered with the governing body. Players would sign them and in the event of a dispute or other there'd be an official copy. That's how it works in soccer. It's not a huge extra amount of paperwork.
There should be a reasonable number of different people who have to see the contracts, e.g. player insurance, tax etc. Under the table payments would be illegal automatically, should be some incentive for players not to collude.
ronk wrote:Why aren't players on the hook? That would be the easiest way of stamping it out. Players declare their income to the governing body and it's compared against clubs. They must have had 2nd contracts if their fake contracts were sent into NRL.
And why should employees be expected to carry out administrative duties of their employer. Should you undertake declaring your earnings so Revenue can make sure tax and PRSI is spot on...Dont think so.
An honest and proper corporate culture is whats required.
Ever heard of a P60 form? Revenue do it for you in reverse.
I thought it would be entirely normal that professional players with restrictions on their contracts have their contracts registered with the governing body. Players would sign them and in the event of a dispute or other there'd be an official copy. That's how it works in soccer. It's not a huge extra amount of paperwork.
There should be a reasonable number of different people who have to see the contracts, e.g. player insurance, tax etc. Under the table payments would be illegal automatically, should be some incentive for players not to collude.
Yes, I have heard of a P60. However, it has no relevance to this point
As yet you have not produced a reason why the onus should be on Pro Sports people, employees of public and privately limited companies, to declare their earnings.
Fine, register contracts with the governing body. All well and good, but I still fail to see how the onus is on the employee to do that.
"I don't do desserts"
Gary Brown Fundamentalist Supporters' Front
The Front Lives on
