Eels finally lose 12 points

[Love_the_WestsTigers]

http://www.nrl.com/parramatta-final-determination/tabid/10874/newsid/98979/default.aspx
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The NRL today confirmed that the Parramatta Eels will be docked 12 competition points and fined $1 million for breaches of the salary cap dating back to 2013.

In addition, the NRL has cancelled the registration of five officials at the club.

CEO Todd Greenberg said that he had carefully considered the responses from the Parramatta club and five officials to the breach notices issued on May 3.

"While each made points worthy of consideration, there was insufficient information in those responses to warrant any change to the penalties originally proposed in the breach notices," Mr Greenberg said.

"The overall impression that I got from the responses is that no one at the club has taken responsibility for the deliberate, systemic and blatant breaches of the salary cap.

"We have to take a stand to demonstrate that the NRL will not tolerate contraventions of the salary cap which plays such a crucial role in giving us one of the closest competitions in Australian sport."

The NRL has imposed the following penalties:

- The Parramatta Eels will be docked 12 competition points from today. In addition, all differential points (for and against) accumulated by the Eels in the first nine rounds will be revoked

- The club will be fined the maximum penalty of $1 million.

- Five club officials - Chairman Steve Sharp, Deputy Chairman Tom Issa, Director Peter Serrao, CEO John Boulous and Football Manager Daniel Anderson – have had their registrations cancelled.

- The Eels will be stripped of its Auckland Nines title won earlier this year. There will be no official winner for 2016.

Mr Greenberg said he could not be more sympathetic for Eels fans, coach Brad Arthur and especially the players who have performed so well in difficult circumstances this year.

"But we have to take a strong stand to preserve the integrity of the salary cap and the competition," he said.

"We would hope that, in the long term, this will help make the club stronger and ensure there is no repeat of the salary cap breaches which have plagued the club over the last six years.

"The Parramatta club now has one of the biggest decisions it has ever had to make in its 69 year history.

"It can appeal the decision, which is its right, or it can accept this decision and turn Parramatta into the powerhouse club it should be.

"It is my view that it is time for the club to move on and do the right thing by Brad Arthur, the players and the fans."

Mr Greenberg said the review had taken longer than originally expected because it affected the livelihoods and reputations of people in the game.

In particular, the NRL did not take lightly its decision to de-register a club legend like Steve Sharp who had been a long time member of the Parramatta family.

Mr Greenberg said that, with this phase of the investigation completed, the NRL will now focus on improving the governance and operations of the Parramatta club.

He said the NRL was ready to provide any resources and expertise needed by the club.

"We have not intervened in the running of the club during this investigation because our priority was to give everyone involved a fair hearing," Mr Greenberg said.

"But it is imperative that we help rebuild the club so it has a strong Board and strong management into the future.

"We note that there are currently several proposals for extraordinary general meetings at the club and we would urge members to support a Board and management group which is focussed on making the Eels a strong, successful team.

"The time for in-fighting and factionalism is over.

"The members have a chance to clear the decks and rebuild the club and we will be encouraging them to do so."

 

[gallagher]

The golden boys shouldn't be playing for points at all.

 

[Love_the_WestsTigers]

The golden boys shouldn't be playing for points at all.

Agree, worst thing is they are on 12 points now, can easily make the top 8 again if we drop the ball

 

[pHyR3]

The golden boys shouldn't be playing for points at all.

Agree, worst thing is they are on 12 points now, can easily make the top 8 again if we drop the ball

they need to win like 8/8 or 8/9 for the rest of the season…wouldnt call that 'easy'

 

[Love_the_WestsTigers]

The golden boys shouldn't be playing for points at all.

Agree, worst thing is they are on 12 points now, can easily make the top 8 again if we drop the ball

they need to win like 8/8 or 8/9 for the rest of the season…wouldnt call that 'easy'

They however have been making winning look easy putting points on
They fell asleep against the sharks but i still fear they could challenge at the end.
Im more worried about our chances though as we play these schmucks later

 

[wicked_j]

I feel that them losing all points scored against them is actually punishing teams who managed to score against them, and not actually punishing Parramatta..

 

[Sabre]

The golden boys shouldn't be playing for points at all.

Agree, worst thing is they are on 12 points now, can easily make the top 8 again if we drop the ball

they need to win like 8/8 or 8/9 for the rest of the season…wouldnt call that 'easy'

And that's just to get to 28 points which probably won't be enough.

 

[Masterton]

I've finally got to the point where I'm cheering for Parra, Manly, Panthers, Titans etc. to lose every game.

Makes me filthy we lost the game against Newcs, though.

 

[kiwitiger]

I'll be the only one, but I'm gutted. I hoped Parra would fight this. the salary cap and TPA system is broken and only real purpose is keeping the status quo. I'm at the point where i'd like to see someone challenge this TPA system, I hoped the Eels might.

 

[Tigerdave]

Think they'll be real hungry in every game for the rest of the year

 

[tiger_one]

it's proven that the eels have played the system and every other club for suckers for 5 years.
The penalty is not reflective of the damage to the game.

 

[Love_the_WestsTigers]

Think they'll be real hungry in every game for the rest of the year

Either that or or a massive CBF..
They might just take other teams down with them..

if they lose the next 2 games then they will clearly be out, perhaps all intensity might die down then

 

[CocaCola]

Parra need to keep winning for WT's to have a chance to make the 8.
Without Foran, they won't have a chance of winning 8/9 or whatever the situation is.
Hope they keep knocking off top 8 sides.

 

[happy_tiger]

The final nail in their coffin for 2016

They'd need to win every game to make the 8 , not gunna happen without Foran

 

[guyofthetiger]

Parramatta Eels salary cap crisis: Corey Norman allegedly given cash payments in car park

EXCLUSIVE

Eels fined $1 million

The NRL confirmed the Parramatta Eels would have 12 competition points deducted and be fined $1 million.

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Explosive new documents allege Brisbane recruiter Peter Nolan gave star playmaker Corey Norman cash payments at Top Ryde car park during his time at Parramatta as part of the club's rorting of the salary cap.

Fairfax Media has obtained a sworn statement by former Eels chief executive Scott Seward and the transcripts from the interview the NRL integrity unit conducted with former football manager Jason Irvine. The accounts detail the illegal payments dished out to Parramatta players, including the third party and cash variety, that were guaranteed by the club in contravention to NRL rules.

The Seward and Irvine accounts outline how they worked together to fulfil a series of undisclosed payments promised to players before their appointments. Both officials admit to paying players in cash, in Seward's case from merchandise takings to hooker Nathan Peats.

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But the biggest twist in the saga is the alleged involvement of Nolan, considered one of the best talent spotters in the game. Seward and Irvine describe Nolan – who discovered Semi Radradra at a rugby Sevens tournament – as one of the administrators fully aware of a secret payments scheme designed to circumvent the salary cap.

In his signed statement, Seward writes: "Corey Norman was promised additional payments of $36,000 which was to cover rental payments of approximately $3000 per month.

Explosive new documents allege Brisbane recruiter Peter Nolan (pictured) gave star playmaker Corey Norman cash payments …
Explosive new documents allege Brisbane recruiter Peter Nolan (pictured) gave star playmaker Corey Norman cash payments at Top Ryde car park during his time at Parramatta as part of the club's rorting of the salary cap. Photo: Steve Lunam

"I recall Nolan telling me that the payments of $3000 per month were for Norman's rent. On one occasion I recall Nolan telling me that he handed Norman a cash payment in the car park at Top Ryde. I recall Nolan saying words to the effect:

"Nolan: That's what this is for. I handed money over to Corey Norman in the Car Park at Top Ryde. I remember saying to him [Norman] 'mate, did you ever think it we'd get here and have to do this?'"

Nolan, who has a relationship with Norman from their time at the Broncos, has not received a breach notice from the NRL. Nolan has declined to comment.

"The NRL received substantial information during its investigation and made its determination based on the weight of evidence available," an NRL spokesperson said.

The club had made a register of promised player payments in 2013 that was not disclosed to the governing body. In his statement, Seward says: "It was clear to me that it was Nolan who was the person who was involved in doing the deals and knew every level of the deals reached with players and their agents."

Irvine and Seward say they were approached by players or their managers demanding money that was promised on top of their registered contracts. When asked which administrators knew about the illegally promised funds in his interview with the NRL, Irvine said: "[Nolan] was there when we did the breakdown of how much was owing."

Irvine admitted he was the bagman in transactions such as alleged payments from Leba Zibara of Zibara Clothing, which he said he gave to Seward to pass on to players. When asked if he handed cash directly to players himself, Irvine said: "No, no. The only player I've ever given money to was Nathan Peats. It was diabolical … Nathan is so direct and so blunt. He was pretty much like, 'Mate, I'm not playing footy no more.' So you know, I got about six grand off, I think, off Scott early last year and then sort of gave him that to sort of settle him down, or I think it was actually late, late in, in '14."

Asked where the money came from, Irvine said: "… it'd come from the shop. It would come from the merchandise store."

Seward, who said he and Irvine inflated invoices, admitted to paying Peats in cash.

"I recall on one occasion, in about June or July 2014, Zibara came into my office and gave me an amount of cash," Seward says in his statement.

"My best recollection was that it was approximately $5000\. I then added a further cash amount of, to the best of my recollection, $1000 (from cash receipts from merchandise sold) and handed the total of $6000 to Nathan Peats.

"This was the only occasion on which I physically handed cash to a player."

Fairfax Media contacted Peats, who said: "I don't know what you're talking about, I don't want to be involved in that." Zibara said he had previously made a statement to the media about his relationship with the Eels and did not want to add to it.

Seward adds that Irvine was one of the officials responsible for handing money to player managers. Seward, who declined to comment when contacted by Fairfax Media, also admits to signing statutory declarations knowing the information contained within them was false.

"At the time I signed the post 2014 season statutory declaration, I certainly knew about the additional undisclosed payments that the club was making to players and player agents and of the TPAs that were promised to players," Seward says in his statement.

"I did not want to sign it, the CFO signed it, the chairman signed but I sat on it for days. However, I ultimately did sign the post 2014 season statutory declaration.

"I also signed the pre-2015 season statutory declaration. I was aware of the additional undisclosed amounts being sourced from TPAs but knew that the club had stopped making additional cash payments. While I had some reservations about signing I ultimately signed the pre-2015 season statutory declaration."

By the NRL's calculations, the Eels had promised illegal player payments totalling more than $3 million since 2013\. The transactions came via third-party arrangements, cash payments and inflated and fictitious invoices.

The club and those believed to be responsible are now being investigated by the Fraud and Cyber Squad at the NSW Police Force and the Australian Tax Office, while Liquor and Gaming NSW is investigating whether the Parramatta Leagues Club breached the Registered Clubs Act.

On Saturday, the NRL confirmed its provisional sanctions, which include a $1 million fine, the stripping of 12 competition points and the cancellation of registrations of five key officials.

Contacted on Saturday night, Norman said: "They've handed our 12 points [penalty] out, that's it."

"That's the end of the story … they have handed our sentence down and we've got to build on that.

"All I can tell you is we're just working every week to put pride in that jersey and put pride in our fans.

"Whatever story you want to come up with, we're just going to roll on through and have the belief of what we want to do in our system."

Attempts to contact the club were unsuccessful.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/parramatta-eels/parramatta-eels-salary-cap-crisis-corey-norman-allegedly-given-cash-payments-in-car-park-20160709-gq252y.html#ixzz4DyV0Mava

 

[guyofthetiger]

Still no remorse and no taking responsibility; acting like they've been hard done by the whole way through this.

They should be at least 4 points behind the bottom team.

 

[gallagher]

So what punishment for Norman if the allegations are proven? Should he be rubbed out?

 

[Newtown]

Still no remorse and no taking responsibility; acting like they've been hard done by the whole way through this.

They should be at least 4 points behind the bottom team.

There is every chance that when we play Parramatta in a couple of weeks time they will have Hayne in their side. So much for the clubs who play fair.

 

[Harvey]

The whole parra saga is a scam marketing exercise that the NRL has their hands all over. How can Watnough be granted a medical retirement clearance in about 8 minutes which gets the Eels back under tha cap and playing for points, but McManus & Snowden are still part of the Knights cap, despite the fact they will not play again.

 

[Love_the_WestsTigers]

The whole parra saga is a scam marketing exercise that the NRL has their hands all over. How can Watnough be granted a medical retirement clearance in about 8 minutes which gets the Eels back under tha cap and playing for points, but McManus & Snowden are still part of the Knights cap, despite the fact they will not play again.

NRL would love to shut people like you down cause you hit the nail on the head with the hard questions.

Can you imagine you posing this question to Todd Greenberg on Live TV ? He will poop his pants because it is a scam