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Eels press conference: Parra breached the cap by $3 million, players may be investigated

(NRL.com)
3rd May, 2016
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It was a press conference where the biggest news – that Parramatta would be stripped all their 2016 points thus far, fined $1 million, and see five senior officials potentially lose their jobs – had already broken. But the address to the rugby league world regarding the Eels salary cap breaches was still compulsory viewing.

NRL CEO Todd Greenberg fronted the rugby league media flanked by NRL Head of Integrity Nick Weeks.

“This is the day no one in rugby league wanted to see,” Greenberg began, but before getting too sad about the plight of Parra’s players and fans, he made sure to remind people that the actions of the club were “Not only disappointing, they’re a stain on our game.”

Parra salary cap scandal
» Parramatta docked 12 points, fined $1 million for salary cap breaches
» Will the Eels take the NRL to court?
» How Parramatta’s punishment compares to previous salary cap breaches
» Read the full statement from the NRL

Weeks revealed that the Eels were over the cap by “about $3 million since 2013 in aggregate”, in what Greenberg described as “deliberate, coordinated, and sustained” cheating of the system, a situation of which Parra’s board and senior executive were aware.

Greenberg again outlined the ways in which the club had manipulated the cap, using undisclosed player payments, sourcing payments from third-party sponsors, and using inflated or fictitious invoices from suppliers to pay players more.

And while reluctant to apportion any further blame, Weeks hinted more people may yet face sanctions, saying, “There’s a phase of this investigation to come”.

“There’s a piece of work that we still need to do with respect to some agents, and we’ll deal with players at that time too,” Weeks said.

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He also said that there was evidence to suggest some players had been paid cash ‘under the table’.

But the emphasis was really on Parramatta as a club, with Greenberg making mention of what a shambles the joint has been in recent years, citing the club’s 25 different directors, six CEOs and four coaches.

“[The Eels] breached the salary cap in five of six seasons, and as we sit here we believe the club are over the salary cap for 2016,” Greenberg said.

“This has to stop, and it stops now.”

Weeks described the club’s attitude to helping the NRL sort out their salary cap issues as “Pretty disappointing”.

“We’ve had to do a lot of work, because the club hasn’t helped us out,” Weeks said.

“There was an opportunity to deal with some of these matters some time ago.”

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And though it may seem the NRL are coming down the mountain on the Eels, Greenberg stressed that “The findings are provisional in nature”, and that “both the club and officials will be afforded an opportunity to respond”.

Both Greenberg and Weeks spoke to both the club’s players and board this morning to outline the situation, in a situation Greenberg described as “difficult”.

“[The players] were shattered. I really felt for the players this morning, and I was desperate to make sure that Nick and I faced them face-to-face this morning… I wanted to face them and I wanted them to hear it from us.”

However, he maintained the line “While you’re over the salary cap you can’t accrue points”, reiterating it a number of times.

In terms of why the Eels would be allowed to play for points once they were salary-cap compliant, as opposed to the Melbourne Storm in 2010 playing for no points, Greenberg said it was about offering Parra hope, as watching the Storm’s 2010 season was “soul-destroying, both for the players and the fans”.

“I didn’t make the decision on the Melbourne Storm, but I’m making the decision today,” he said.

“We’re part of the solution, we said we’d help them, and I want to help them…

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“It’s a moment in time where Parramatta get the opportunity to start off the field again, and I hope they take that with both hands.”

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