General Warriors Players Escape Prosecution

[Jesbass_old]

From the official website of the National Rugby League, www.nrl.com:

The NRL says it was "not particularly impressed" with the role some of the New Zealand Warriors players had in the club's salary cap scandal but had insufficient information to prosecute them.

NRL chief executive David Gallop, who has given the strongest warning yet that players could be punished if they were found guilty of helping to rort the cap, said "insufficient material" meant Warriors players could not be prosecuted.

"We had a few meetings with the players directly ... it would be fair to say there were some transactions where we are not particularly impressed with the role of individuals," he said.

"We pulled up short of actually taking action against them. I know the Agent Accreditation Committee will be looking at some issues.

"There may well be situations where individuals will be liable for penalties.

"There were some transactions we were not particularly impressed with how they appeared.

"We didn't feel that we had, if you like, sufficient material to go forward with a prosecution of a player."

Gallop's comments come after the Warriors were penalised four competition points and $430,000 for salary cap breaches totally close to $1 million in 2004 and 2005.

The club is considering appealing the severity of the punishment.

Forwards Steve Price and Ruben Wiki have been the two stars whose contracts came under most scrutiny from NRL salary cap auditor Ian Schubert, with the New Zealand Test skipper having been guaranteed a development job valued at $150,000 over three seasons after he retires.

Price has maintained the players had no idea the club was over the cap.

Gallop urged players, not just player managers, to familiarise themselves with the salary cap manual to ensure their contracts were above board.

However, he said club officials had the "primary" responsibility to ensure the cap wasn't rorted.

"Players don't necessarily know what everyone else in their squad is being paid and they are not expected to sit there and calculate what everyone else in their top squad is being paid," he said.

"The primary responsibility is with the club, they are the one's who lodge the contracts with us."

 

[Skinny_Ravs82]

While I do think it is a good idea that everyone should be wel aware of these things, I keep getting this annoying feeling that Mr. Gallop is wanting to point fingers somewhere (wherever that is) around at the Warriors. Yet maybe it is possible something was a miss but; the fact is he keeps ranting on about the individual players (whoever they are) as thou he wants to look like the 'good guy' and it's starting to piss me off.

 

[ozbash_old]

i think gallop is barking up the wrong tree here, he should be looking at some of the unscrupulous player agents.

 

[Jesbass_old]

i think gallop is barking up the wrong tree here, he should be looking at some of the unscrupulous player agents.

He is.

I think he's just trying to cover all bases.

 

[Skinny_Ravs82]

i think gallop is barking up the wrong tree here, he should be looking at some of the unscrupulous player agents.

He is.

I think he's just trying to cover all bases.

Either that or just covering his own ass

 

[Bulldog_old]

"prosecution"??...whaa?...as in criminal prosecution??...when were the NRL salary cap rules incorporated into the Australian penal code? LMAO! Gallop is talkin utter BS! Give back the points Gallop and let all the teams start off on an even playing field.

 

[AliN_old]

"prosecution"??...whaa?...as in criminal prosecution??...when were the NRL salary cap rules incorporated into the Australian penal code? LMAO! Gallop is talkin utter BS! Give back the points Gallop and let all the teams start off on an even playing field.

depends if its seen as fraudulent or not.
if someone misappropriates funds its fraud.

 

[Bulldog_old]

"prosecution"??...whaa?...as in criminal prosecution??...when were the NRL salary cap rules incorporated into the Australian penal code? LMAO! Gallop is talkin utter BS! Give back the points Gallop and let all the teams start off on an even playing field.

depends if its seen as fraudulent or not.
if someone misappropriates funds its fraud.

whose funds are being misapropriated? The money paid to players surely belong to the Warriors and not the NRL?

 

[PB_old]

"prosecution"??...whaa?...as in criminal prosecution??...when were the NRL salary cap rules incorporated into the Australian penal code? LMAO! Gallop is talkin utter BS! Give back the points Gallop and let all the teams start off on an even playing field.

depends if its seen as fraudulent or not.
if someone misappropriates funds its fraud.

The players and player agents only take what the clubs are prepared to give them knowingly. Players can be considered complicit and face internal disciplinary action if a "surprise" $100K turns up in their account and they stay mum, but not if they are merely accepting what is in their contract. If the funds come from a non-NRL source then they cannot pursue any misappropraition action, internal procedures apply. It is not only not their business what other people get within the club it is not their business whether the club is offering more than is within their budget.

Given the number of clubs that are yearly over the cap there is a sufficient lack of skill across the board in applying a rule across the grey area of post player employment and third party contracts. It simply comes down to ensuring they are included in any declaration and rubber-stamped by the NRL so if there is an issue the NRL is at fault and the club can't be penalised.

If day-to-day perks like free phone, car etc are not declared and they are meant to be then the player, as a contractor, merely has to have an arrangement to allowing the bills to accumulate in their name, claim back any tax entitlements, and then settle up at cessation of contract or agreed period. And there are any number of ways that can be done.

Also, I think we'll find that after the first player appears before the courts as a result of an NRL prosecution, the Salary Cap will be the subject of a massive restraint of trade legal challenge. Which will be successful, the Salary Cap will die and the game will skew towards those with the most money again. I think the NRL are simply posturing. The end result will wreck what they are trying to achieve at the moment.

Softly softly Mr Gallop.

 

[Bulldog_old]

I can understand where there are statutory declarations involved (and I'm not sure if that is the case)..but you can certainly be charged in a court of law with making a false declaration..

 

[AmeriKiwi_old]

Sounds like lots of gray areas to me, but I`m far from being legally trained or qualified to make any kind of informed judgment or legal opinion about any of it. I`ll stick to doing what I`m best qualified to do... show up at the game next Sunday and cheer the Warriors on!!

 

[spykid_old]

Well if they didn't prosecute, he shouldn't mention it because it just causes people to speculate who he's talking about which isn't fair to any of the players is it.

 

[warriors4life_old]

I wonder which individuals Gallop was not particulary impressed with...