Perth Glory have been exiled from the A-League finals series after Football Federation Australia (FFA) found them to be in breach of the salary cap in the region of $400,000 throughout the 2014-15 season.
FFA Chief Executive Officer David Gallop and head of A-League Damien De Bohun announced the verdict at a press conference today.
“Following an ongoing investigation, FFA has determined Perth Glory Football Club will be excluded from the 2015 Hyundai finals this comes as a result of Perth Glory breaching the salary cap,” Gallop said.
“The sanction follows the finding that Perth Glory exceeded the cap in the order of $400,000 at the commencement of this season in October and has continued to significantly exceed the salary cap at and around that level throughout the 2014-15 Hyundai A-League season.
“The breach this season involves the deliberate failure to disclose payments and benefits to at least six players, Perth Glory will be fined $269, 000 as a result of exceeding the salary cap this season and failing to disclose reportable payments and benefits in the past two seasons,” Gallop said.
“As football’s governing body, FFA has an obligation to the fans, the clubs, the sponsors and the broadcasters to make sure every contest is fair and square, and under the rules and regulations of the A-League. FFA has determined that we cannot have a club deliberately, significantly and persistently breaching those obligations for the championship.
“Perth Glory have seven days in which to appeal the determination to the disciplinary committee chaired by John Marshall senior council.”
The breaches over the past three seasons including the current A-League campaign include the following:
2012/2013 – $26,000
2013/2014 – 43,000
2014/2015 – $400, 000
Those funds were spread out and distributed through multiple and diverse avenues. Payments to family members, payments to player agent fees, third party sponsorships, pre-player payments, travel costs, accommodation benefits and provision of motor vehicles were some of the items listed.
Surprisingly, the Glory will not finish at the foot of the A-League ladder come season’s end, as the FFA ruled Perth will be recalculated to seventh place leaving the likes of the Western Sydney Wanderers and Newcastle Jets to battle it out for the wooden spoon.
Such a breach has occurred previously in the A-League. After Sydney FC won the inaugural A-League season, they were subsequently found to have exceeded the cap. The breach included undisclosed payments, pre-payments, service agreements and payments to player agents, all of which were uncovered at Perth Glory today.
The Sky Blues appealed the sanction and eventually the determination was minimised to just three competition points for that season and $173,000 in fines.
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