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Besieged administrator Brian Waldron remained at the helm of the new Melbourne Rebels Super rugby union franchise but was “taking advice” after being implicated in the Melbourne Storm’s NRL salary cap scandal.
The Rebels confirmed late on Thursday that Waldron currently remained in charge of the club he joined after quitting a similar chief executive role at the Storm in January.
The Storm were been stripped of two NRL premierships and fined a total of $1.6 million after being found guilty of long-term salary cap breaches.
NRL boss David Gallop said the Storm had rorted the salary cap by at least $1.7 million over five years.
“They had a long-term system of effectively two sets of books and the elaborate lengths they have gone through to cover this up has been extraordinary,” Gallop said.
All the alleged offences would have occurred under Waldron’s tenure as Storm chief executive from 2004.
The NRL said two current members of senior management at the club had been stood down as a result of the salary cap investigation.
A Rebels spokeswoman said the club, which is set to join an expanded Super rugby competition next season, would not comment on the issue.
But she did confirm that Waldron was “taking some advice”.
“He cannot make any comment – he is taking some advice at the moment,” the spokeswoman said.
Waldron was not available for comment on Thursday night.
Rebels chairman Harold Mitchell also declined to comment on the matter – saying through his spokeswoman “it’s NRL business”.
The Australian Rugby Union was taking a close interest in the matter, although it does not directly employ Waldron.
“It is the first we have heard about this issue with the Melbourne Storm, and we have had no direct dialogue with the NRL of News Ltd, so we can’t comment on the depth or detail of any allegation that they may level at any individuals,” said ARU spokesman Peter Jenkins.
“It is clear from a Melbourne Storm perspective there will be more details to come and we will follow the situation with interest.”
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