http://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/storm-ii-salary-cap-claims-hit-aleague-20110617-1g85z.html#ixzz1PXhYH46y
Storm II? Salary cap claims hit A-League
AUSTRALIAN soccer has been hit by explosive allegations that Sydney FC breached the player salary cap in the lead-up to its A-League grand final win over Melbourne Victory last year.
The Saturday Age has learnt that claims of possible salary cap breaches at Sydney FC were brought to the attention of Football Federation Australia after the end of the 2009-10 season - and that officials brushed them aside.
The alarm was sounded by the A-League's operations senior manager, Matt Phelan, after he and his staff discovered in an audit that Sydney FC may have breached its salary cap by more than $100,000.
It is believed Mr Phelan met FFA chief executive Ben Buckley and another senior executive to tell them of the possible breaches, and that he recommended sanctions be considered against Sydney FC.
Such action, if approved by the FFA board, might have included the deduction of points, fines or other measures.
But instead of accepting Mr Phelan's recommendation, it is believed that Mr Buckley and the other executive told him he should adopt a different approach to the salary cap review that would ensure Sydney FC would have no case to answer.
It is believed that Mr Phelan - who declined to speak to The Saturday Age about his time at the FFA - refused the request because he considered it inappropriate. He also refused to have any further dealings with the Sydney FC salary cap issue and it was assigned to another staff member.
The suspected breach involved the use of ''Additional Services Agreements'', in which players can top up their salaries by getting sponsorship or incentives from third parties.
A spokesman for the FFA said yesterday that ''Sydney FC's player payments for the 2009-10 Hyundai A-League were under the salary cap limit and were verified in a compliance audit.'' A Sydney FC spokesman said the club had ''complied with all components of the salary cap''.
Two sources with inside knowledge of the FFA told The Saturday Age that Mr Phelan felt the FFA had, in effect, tried to brush off his concerns.
Former A-League chief Archie Fraser told The Saturday Age he wasn't prepared to comment on specific clubs, but said the FFA's handling of the A-League salary cap was manifestly inadequate and in need of overhauling.
''When I arrived [at FFA], I was shocked at the lack of a dedicated person in the administration of the salary cap,'' said Mr Fraser, who was A-League boss between early 2009 and and April 2010.
''I raised the inadequate level of resourcing in this area on a number of occasions. More disappointing was the reluctance to appoint a dedicated resource to this area,'' he said. Mr Fraser also revealed that a formal request to Mr Buckley to fund a dedicated salary-cap compliance officer was denied.
An FFA spokesman said: ''FFA assures Hyundai A-League fans, players and clubs that it operates a robust salary cap system with a comprehensive reporting, monitoring and audit process across the competition.''
Mr Fraser described Mr Phelan, who left the FFA last July, as ''a highly skilled professional administrator who knew the FFA rules and regulations in detail'' and ''someone with very high standards and integrity.''
''Matt's role was to ensure the regulations were followed by the clubs and he did that in a consistent and professional manner,'' Mr Fraser said. The Sydney FC salary cap issue was raised by Mr Phelan with Mr Buckley after Mr Fraser had left the FFA.
The Saturday Age can also reveal that senior FFA staff believed other clubs may have taken a ''creative'' approach to the salary cap rules. Several sources with knowledge of the FFA's inside workings confirmed that at least two other A-League clubs had been found in potential breach of the salary cap over the last few years and that some of the breaches were handled in an inconsistent manner.
One such breach involved a club providing an expensive house for a player to live in and what was suspected to be an effort to improperly supplement his salary. ''In relation to benefits provided … FFA confirms they were included in determining the club's compliance with the salary cap,'' an FFA spokesman said.
Sydney FC won the A-League grand final in March 2010, beating Melbourne Victory 4-2 in a penalty shootout. It had previously been fined for breaching its salary cap in the 2005-06 season.
The purpose of the salary cap is to ensure fair competition between rich clubs and poorer clubs. In 2009-10, clubs were allowed to spend a maximum of $2,250,000 on players. Clubs can supplement this amount through several other means, including Additional Service Agreements, but under strict rules.
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