Eels open door for disgraced Sharks boss
Jamie Pandaram, Greg Prichard and Jacquelin Magnay | June 12, 2009
PARRAMATTA have left the door ajar for fallen Cronulla chief executive Tony Zappia to replace Denis Fitzgerald despite the controversial nature of his exit from the Sharks.
Zappia resigned his post yesterday after a scandalous month that included former Cronulla employee Jenny Hall accusing him of sexual harassment and bullying.
But in a surprise twist, the Eels said last night Zappia would "be welcome" to apply for the top job recently vacated by Fitzgerald. Zappia is a former football manager of Parramatta, and retains close ties to the newly elected board members.
Zappia requested a meeting with NRL boss David Gallop before he announced his resignation yesterday. That meeting is scheduled for today. It's believed Zappia might try to convince Gallop he should be allowed to apply for other roles within the game.
Recently elected Parramatta chairman Roy Spagnolo said Zappia could apply for the job as chief executive of football operations at the Eels.
Spagnolo, who is a close friend of Zappia, denied the new Parramatta board had made plans to bring Zappia back to the club if he ended up splitting with the Sharks, but said he would hate to see Zappia lost to the game.
Asked if Zappia were welcome to apply for the chief executive's job, Spagnolo replied: "If the job was available, he would be welcome to apply
I remember seeing a column in a newspaper not long ago in which [Cronulla coach] Ricky Stuart gave Tony a lot of praise. I think he described him as the buy of the year. If someone like Ricky Stuart thinks that highly of him as a CEO, I reckon that means a lot. I wouldn't want to see Tony out of the game."
Despite his resignation, Zappia said he was innocent of all claims made by Hall. A recording of a conversation between the pair, in which he asks if she would like to spank him after accidentally punching her, was dismissed as being taken out of context. The punch, which occurred in the hallway of the Cronulla football offices and left Hall with a severely bruised eye, was again described by Zappia as an accident.
"It was an accident. In other conversations I know that she made the statements that I swiped her. A swipe and a punch are very different in my opinion," Zappia told Channel Nine.
"The word spanking, in the full context of the conversation that was happening at that particular time, whilst it may not seem appropriate when it's taken - just those couple of words together - in the context of that conversation that was occurring, it wasn't inappropriate, no.
"There was a jovial comment and there was laughter from all parties."
Zappia could not be contacted by the Herald for further comment last night.
The Cronulla board said it independently investigated the claims made by Hall and found that Zappia had not acted unlawfully.
"In relation to recent media reporting concerning Mr Zappia, the Sharks can confirm they investigated the incident involving Ms Hall independently and concluded that Mr Zappia had engaged in no unlawful conduct," a club statement said.
Spagnolo defended Zappia. "It was an accident. It's been said that it was an accident all along, and I think it's been blown out of proportion," he said.
Asked whether he had offered Zappia the chief's job, Spagnolo replied: "No, the board hasn't spoken about it. It's early days. We've just finished with Denis [Fitzgerald], and we're going to appoint some consultants to look at the structure of the club, and whether we need to apply any cost-saving measures. We've got acting chief executives on the football and leagues club sides of things at the moment.
"We'll probably look at appointments in a month or two. I wouldn't rule anything in and I wouldn't rule anything out."
Zappia and the Sharks board visited Channel Seven in Martin Place yesterday to listen to the audio recorded by Hall.
Earlier yesterday the Sharks board was believed to be split 5-3 in favour of sacking Zappia despite calls for the strongest action from Gallop and the Premier, Nathan Rees.
Gallop last night added: "Tony has tonight paid a heavy price. The issue will hopefully serve as a reminder of the standards that need to be maintained across the game."
The drama unfolded two weeks ago when the Herald published a photo of Hall, taken four days after being accidentally punched by Zappia. It showed Hall with a badly bruised and infected eye.
The Herald also revealed she had been paid $20,000 by the club, that she no longer worked for the club and had fled interstate.
As well, the Herald exposed a culture of poor attitudes towards women, including the distribution of sex toys to players, two women accompanying a sex-shop owner into the Sharks' dressing room and the use of derogatory language..
In the recording, broadcast on Channel Seven on Sunday night, Zappia can allegedly be heard refusing Hall sick pay, suggesting her injury was a result of falling against a wall, laughing that she had been drinking and then showing her pornographic images.
