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The Parramatta Eels have strongly denied claims published by the Daily Telegraph that the club used third-party agreements (TPAs) to solve their salary cap problems.
The Telegraph story alleges that Parramatta’s head of football, Daniel Anderson, was discussing the use of TPAs for the contracts of Semi Radradra and Tim Mannah with Eels chairman Steve Sharp and deputy chairman Tom Issa.
TPAs with companies involved in commercial deals with the NRL are expressly prohibited by the competition’s salary cap rules.
However, in a statement released on Thursday, the club strongly refuted the claims.
“Today’s media reports regarding Semi Radradra are wrong,” the statement read.
“The Eels were not offered the opportunity to comment on this information before it went to print.
“It should also be noted that all correspondence printed in today’s article has already been provided voluntarily to the NRL and there has been no suggestion that these matters are part of the current investigation.”
Sharp also provided a statement criticising the media reports.
“It is so important for the public, our Members and fans to understand that the Parramatta Eels are undergoing a massive reform process,” said Sharp.
“Further to that, a campaign of smear will not be permitted to undermine this reform…
“We again assert our rights to procedural fairness and are doing so by fully assisting the NRL.
“The club will be reviewing all our legal options in relation to today’s article and continue to offer our full cooperation to the NRL regarding its current salary cap investigation.”
The Eels are currently undergoing a salary investigation by the NRL which could see the club docked competition points, and the latest news comes just a day after a number of Parramatta’s players were left to face the media about the ongoing drama in the stead of the club’s management.
However skipper Kieran Foran said the saga isn’t affecting the side.
“It’s not a big issue for us – we know nothing about it,” Foran said. “We don’t know what’s being said or going on.”
The investigation is due to conclude in the coming weeks.
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