Cronulla’s sacked five-eighth Todd Carney is set to lose three and half years of contract salary after a photo taken of him urinating towards his own mouth in the toilets at Northies, Cronulla began circulating on social media after a drinking session Saturday night.
The 28 year-old signed a new five-year deal with the Sharks last year, tying him to the club until the end of 2017.
The Leader understands the contract which increased in value each year was up to $650,000 for each of the 2014-2016 seasons.
Under Carney’s termination deal, it’s highly unlikely he will be paid one cent.
The team's planned 9am training session was cancelled today because an official declared players were “not in the right head space”.
Carney's manager said this morning that Carney did not drink his own urine.
“It’s a setup, like when people stand in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa,” David Riolo told Fairfax Media's radio station 2UE this morning.
Riolo told Fairfax Radio that he believed the Sharks had "cracked" and made a hasty decision to fire Carney.
"I don't think so, mate," he said when asked if the incident was a sackable offence.
"Cronulla are struggling at the moment, they've got a skeletal staff, they're not well resourced, they're not well organised.
"They haven't got a major sponsor, especially with the cloud of this ASADA investigation over the club.
Their (player) welfare isn't the best and I think, you know, they cracked. If it had been another club, would he have been sacked? I don't think so.''
Sharks are standing firm on the decision and media manager Rob Willis said the club and the NRL’s welfare team would work with Carney in the wake of his sacking.
Willis said chief executive Steve Noyce had spoken with Carney on Sunday.
The club issued a statement on Sunday night after Noyce and the board met to discuss and decide upon Carney’s future.
‘‘Cronulla Shark Football Club after careful consideration and lengthy deliberation, including discussions with senior NRL management, today has made a decision to terminate Todd Carney’s NRL playing contract effective immediately,’’ the statement read.
‘‘At the Sharks we are committed to building a successful club, a club with strong values and a club which sets and respects high standards in all aspects of its operations and activities.
‘‘When Todd was signed to the Sharks, he was made well aware of his responsibilities on and off the field, to himself, the club and to the game in general.
‘‘However, the photograph that appeared last night [Saturday] on social media does not meet the values and standards the club is looking to uphold and take into the future.
‘‘As with any difficult decision, while you cannot change the past, it is important to put measures in place that can deliver positive outcomes in the present and into the future.
‘‘The club and the NRL will be committed to working with Todd, his family and his management in implementing appropriate counselling and support, with the start of this process to begin tonight.’’
The incident has caused much discussion on social media with some for or against Carney's sacking and others saying media space could be used for more worthy stories.
Do you think the club did the right thing or overreacted by sacking Carney?
