A REPORT commissioned by the Storm's owner, News Ltd, on salary cap breaches at the NRL side claims the club was $3.2 million over the cap from 2006 to the end of this season.
The figure, provided to Rupert Murdoch's media company by the accountants Deloitte after an audit of the club's books, is almost double the $1.7 million News Ltd predicted the breaches amounted to when the scandal broke in April.
But the chairman of Storm, Rob Moodie, who was yesterday asked to resign by a senior News Ltd executive, has suggested the Deloitte inquiry "was set up to serve the best interests" of the club's owners.
Deloitte's findings predicted that the Storm would be $1.3 million over the cap next year unless it sold star players.
The
Herald can reveal that the chief operating officer at News Ltd, Peter Macourt, phoned Dr Moodie yesterday and suggested he and the three other independent directors, Gerry Ryan, Peter Maher and Petra Fawcett, should stand down.
Mr Macourt said he was disappointed the directors had refused an offer of "mediation" and that of the independent board members only Ms Fawcett had agreed to be interviewed by Deloitte.
But last night Dr Moodie made it clear he and the other directors not employed by News Ltd - who are taking the NRL to court, claiming the league failed to follow due process when punishing the team for salary cap breaches - would not quit the club.
"We cannot resign even if we wanted to," he told the
Herald. "The players, the staff, the supporters, the coach and the sponsors have begged us to take the action that we have. We have no choice but to stay.
"We are the only people who have the best interests of the Melbourne Storm at heart.''
Mr Macourt's call for the directors to resign represents an escalation in the increasingly bitter stoush that has set the club against its owner and the NRL.
It is believed Deloitte had sought to speak with about 40 people involved with the Victorian side but that more than half refused to meet the auditors. Many of those who declined interviews did so after the accounting firm refused to guarantee confidentiality.
News Ltd received Deloitte's report last week but it has not yet been seen by the independent directors. It is expected to be made public today or tomorrow.
A source close to the independent board members said they were looking forward to reading the report.
News Ltd would not comment last night.
TOM REILLY AND BRAD WALTER
July 14, 2010
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...oubled-20100713-109fi.html?rand=1279029764542
