http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...s/news-story/600a05afe5546bf572766c73e4d1b06b
D-Day for Manly who refuse to hand over personal phones
The NRL’s salary cap investigation into Manly is expected to reach a tipping point today with the threat of sanctions looming against the Sea Eagles unless they provide the integrity unit with the information they have deemed necessary to complete their inquiry.
The investigation remains bogged down in legal wrangling, with the legalese now centred around clauses in the NRL rules that deal with the duty to co-operate for clubs and officials.
It is also understood the NRL has become frustrated by the Sea Eagles’ reluctance to waive confidentiality clauses in contracts with former employees.
The most concerning issue remains the integrity unit’s inability to gain access to mobile phone and email records of some of the club’s key figures, with the Sea Eagles arguing there is no requirement in the rules to hand over personal information or devices which are at arm’s length to the club. At the heart of the issue is rule 120 of the NRL rules which makes it clear clubs and people must co-operate with the salary cap auditor to the best of their ability.
Clause three of that section refers to written or electronic records and documents but the Sea Eagles argue that does not apply to personal mobile phones.
There is a provision for mobile phones and tablets in section 111(A). Furthermore, the NRL argues there is a footnote in the rules which clearly states that clubs and officials must not keep personal information on any device where there is a possibility that information related to player renumeration is also kept.
It is understood the Sea Eagles have raised concerns over private information being leaked into the public domain.
That catch-all clause, which ties into rule 109 relating to player renumeration records, says that: “… it is the responsibility of all clubs to ensure that personal or other information is NOT saved, stored, copied or backed up on an internet server, laptop, computer hard drive, portable hard drive or other device where there is any possibility that records of the kind referred to in rule 109 reside.
“Further, in the case of emails, the salary cap auditor may require all emails to be downloaded from the server and copied to a portable hard drive for later analysis.
“For that reason, all clubs must ensure that any email account that is used to transmit records of the kind referred to in Rule 109 is NOT used for personal business.”
The parties will attempt to end the impasse today but if they cannot find a way forward, the NRL has the option of breaching the club or individuals involved.
That could result in the Sea Eagles facing potential fines or key officials being deregistered over their refusal to comply with the investigation.
The salary cap inquiry, which has become an offshoot of the match fixing inquiry which began last year and ultimately found no evidence to support the claims, is fast becoming a test case for the NRL’s powers of investigation.
