Cronulla Sharks captain Paul Gallen has refuted claims made in The Daily Telegraph that Sharks players had negotiated a plea deal with ASADA that would see players only receive a 6 month ban.
In a radio interview Gallen said that players were offered a 6 month ban if they agreed to tell the truth and admit they had done something wrong. He told The Big Sports Breakfast radio show:
“That was told to us from day one but we don’t know where being truthful and honest comes from because we don’t know what we have done wrong.”
“That was certainly before the season started, that was before round one. That’s what we were told and it was reported back then that we were to keep our contracts and take six months but we don’t know what we have done wrong so we will just deal with it as it comes.”
Gallen then went on to say something I found strange. He said that he never had any contact with ASADA:
“I never went to broker any deal with ASADA, I never had any interview with ASADA, I never spoke to ASADA at all, I never had any contact with them.”
It must be remembered lawyers are all over this. The Cronulla Sharks have their representation, and if the players are smart, they would also have their own legal representation.
A player might not need to have direct contact with ASADA but through legal representatives the channels of communication are well and truly open between players and ASADA.
Documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph would suggest that at the very least, someone was negotiating on behalf of players with ASADA.
Read more: Paul Gallen says Sharks players never considered six-month plea bargain bans
