this is ridiculous. poor Sharpy
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...e/news-story/48e0f26bfd4eb4b6a305eae1f8be8bac
Former Parramatta Eels chiefs ruled unfit to serve
Four former directors of the Parramatta Eels — including two Eels legends, Steve Sharp and NSW Rugby League board member Geoff Gerard — are set to be disqualified from the NSW club industry for up to three years, after being told this week they are not “fit and proper” people to serve.
The ruling by the NSW chief clubs regulator, the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, is expected to set a precedent for directors of NRL clubs, with potentially sweeping ramifications for senior officials across the game.
It is the second shock this week for the Eels, already reeling from the lodging on Wednesday of US civil court documents accusing Jarryd Hayne of rape.
The Australian understands the NSW clubs regulator, the ILGA, told Sharp, the former Eels chairman, ex-deputy chairman, Tom Issa, and two other former directors, Peter Serrao and ex-Eels star Gerard, of the ban late on Tuesday. The club could still face a potential maximum $250,000 fine over the directors’ actions in the lead-up to the club’s salary cap scandal last year.
But senior rugby league sources suggest the decision could raise questions about Gerard’s role on the NSWRL board. Gerard did not return calls yesterday.
The ruling follows last year’s sensational removal of the entire Parramatta Eels board by the NSW government, following months of revelations from a News Corp investigation about the former directors’ alleged roles in the Eels salary cap affair.
The scandal saw the club cheat the National Rugby League’s salary cap by $3 million between 2013 and last year, using bogus and inflated invoices. The affair became one of the biggest scandals in recent Australian sports history, with the NRL stripping the club of 12 competition points (effectively eliminating the Eels from last year’s finals) and imposing a $1m fine.
The fine print of the ILGA decision has potentially grave ramifications not just for the Eels, but all NRL clubs funded by cash-rich Leagues clubs.
It had previously been thought that directors of NRL clubs were not governed by ILGA, but only by the NRL itself. But it is understood the ruling clearly indicates that where NRL clubs are bankrolled by sister leagues clubs that are cash-rich, they face a much greater level of accountability because of the NRL clubs’ financial reliance on them.
An ILGA spokesman has confirmed the body had found that “Mr Steven Sharp, Mr Toufic (Tom) Issa, Mr Geoff Gerard and Mr Peter Serrao are not fit and proper persons to be members of the governing body of a registered club in NSW”.
The spokesman underlined the crucial links between the related Parramatta NRL and Leagues clubs, and the responsibility of the Eels directors towards the Leagues Club members. “The PNRL club is the corporate entity through which the Parramatta Eels compete in the NRL and is wholly owned by Parramatta Leagues Club,” the spokesman said, adding that the directors held “a personal legal duty to disclose suspected breaches of the salary cap”.
On Tuesday, the NSW clubs regulator individually sent the four ex-directors covering letters and a 70-page ruling that set out the reasons for its decision.
The Australian also understands ILGA gave them until January 15 to make submissions about the extent of their penalties.
Under the NSW Registered Clubs Act, directors of a licensed club deemed not to be “fit and proper” can be disqualified for up to three years from leadership roles at any club.
But while the directors have been found to be not “fit and proper”, it is not yet clear what action, if any, the regulator will seek to take against the club itself.
ILGA has the ability to fine the club up to $250,000 over the infringements. But
The Australian understands Parramatta, through its law firm King & Wood Mallesons, has made a submission claiming it was not the club, but the people who formerly ran it, who were responsible for the breaches.
ILGA did not comment on whether it was planning any fine for the Parramatta Leagues Club, saying only: “The authority will next consider any final submissions from the parties on the question of what, if any, disciplinary action should be taken against the club or the former directors.”
ILGA added it would “publish a decision with reasons once this matter is finalised in early 2018”.
The fallout from the salary cap scandal crippled the club. Earlier this year, Parramatta confirmed the biggest annual loss by a club in NRL history, in the wake of the Eels’ rorting of the salary cap: an extraordinary $12.44m.
