The future of Australian National Rugby League club Cronulla Sharks is under threat amid a damaging combination of crippling debts, sponsor pullouts and player conduct issues, reports said yesterday.
It looks increasingly grim for the embattled Sharks, who formed in 1967 but are now fighting for their existence after mounting problems on the back of A$12 million (US$9.2 million) in debt and an exodus of fans.
In a demoralizing week for the Sharks, based on Sydney’s southern outskirts, the club lost the support of it’s A$700,000-a-year main sponsor, LG Electronics, ending a nine-year association and five other minor sponsors.
There were also revelations of a A$20,000-dollar termination settlement with a female employee, who received a black eye from an “accidental” punch by club chief executive Tony Zappia last year.
Zappia previously said the incident happened when he was shadow boxing.
The club’s reputation has been savaged after a TV program this month exposed a culture of gang sex involving a 2002 trip to New Zealand.
The revelations led to former Shark player turned commentator Matthew Johns being suspended from his media and coaching commitments.
Former international Reni Maitua was stood down by the Sharks on Wednesday after testing positive for an anabolic agent.
The club is wallowing at the bottom of the NRL premiership standings after losing its last eight games.
The Cronulla club also sacked back Greg Bird earlier this year in relation to an assault conviction involving his girlfriend.
NRL chief executive David Gallop said he could not guarantee the Cronulla club’s future.
“They’ve got some big issues ahead of them. We need to get in and talk to them about the strategies to solve their problems,” Gallop told reporters on Thursday. “I’ve said for some time we don’t have a blank check for any club, but certainly we will do what we can to look at their financial situation to see if there is any way through it.”
“Part of our broadcast deal is that we provide eight games a week, and that will be something we take into account as we go forward looking at their financial position,” he said. “I cannot guarantee anything at this point.”
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