EDFL clubs Aberfeldie and Pascoe Vale deny exceeding salary cap

TWO of the three Essendon District Football League clubs found to have breached allowable player payments rules have flatly denied exceeding the $250,000 salary cap set for Premier Division sides.

TWO of the three Essendon District Football League clubs found to have breached allowable player payments rules have flatly denied exceeding the $250,000 salary cap set for Premier Division sides.

Reigning premier Aberfeldie and Pascoe Vale have released statements to clarify their respective positions.

TOP FOOTY CLUBS BOUNCED FOR PAYMENT RULE BREACHES

In a statement on Thursday, the EDFL confirmed top-flight clubs Aberfeldie, Pascoe Vale and Essendon Doutta Stars had made “incorrect interpretations of the rules and procedural mistakes”.

The EDFL press release did not disclose if any of the three clubs were over the salary cap and Leader has not suggested that is the case.

An EDFL-appointed AFL Victoria integrity officer compiled reports on the clubs and they could face penalties.

Aberfeldie has denied breaching the $250,000 salary cap. Picture: Hamish Blair

In a letter to members, Aberfeldie Sports Club chairman Jim Pound said the club was in the process of submitting its response to the findings.

“We place on the record for your information at this early stage that Abers has not concealed any player payments or benefits nor has it endeavoured to do so. More importantly, It has been found not to have done so,” Pound wrote.

“It has also been found to have maintained records of player payments ‘very well’

“The club wishes to place on record that any alleged noncompliance relates to administrative rule interpretations on declared player payments.”

Pascoe Vale’s statement confirmed the club had committed three administrative breaches — not lodging all player contracts within the required time frame, not lodging all non-contracted player statements within the required time frame and not disclosing all of its player payments in the final declaration form.

“We believe it is important to provide further context and clarity on this issue in the spirit of transparency to the clubs members, supporters, players and the wider EDFL footy community,” Pascoe Vale Sports Club board director of senior football Stuart Mitchell said.

“The AFL & EDFL-endorsed Community Club Sustainability framework that encompasses the Salary Cap & Player Points system is something we welcome, embrace and take very seriously. We look forward to playing a positive role in lifting our administrative standards as a volunteer organisation going forward from here”

Pascoe Vale has also denied exceeding the player salary cap. Picture Andrew Tauber

The salary cap was implemented last season in community competitions across the state to complement the player points system under AFL Victoria’s Club Sustainability Program.

Education was the focus of the first year, but clubs can lose premiership points, have their player points cap reduced and be ineligible for finals for up to three years if found guilty of serious breaches.

The program seeks to address the impact of player payments and the burden on club volunteers.

“The reviews covered all aspects,” EDFL chief executive Craig Armstead told Leader.

“2017 was meant to be the educational year, so we asked the auditor to go through and check all the elements of it and that it complied with the procedures.

“The thing with all three of them, they were really cooperative and transparent throughout the process, so that was really encouraging and pleasing to us.

“They learnt, we learnt, which was the whole idea of being educational. There were parts where they just incorrectly interpreted the rules and there were a few procedural mistakes.”

The EDFL’s $250,000 salary cap is greater than the neighbouring Western Region and Northern leagues, who have a payments limit of $225,000 in their top-flight competitions.

The Ballarat ($140,000) and Riddell District leagues ($110,000) — which border EDFL territory — have significantly lower caps.

Plans are afoot for all metropolitan leagues to have the same salary cap by 2020.