Premier League side
West Ham United co-Chair David Sullivan "
dismissed suggestions" that he and
joint-Chair David Gold are "
actively seeking to sell their shares" in the club. Reports on Tuesday claimed the duo were "looking to sell part of their stake in the club" but Sullivan, who owns 51% of West Ham, branded the rumors "utterly false." Sullivan said, "It is no secret that both David Gold and I see our long-term futures as custodians of West Ham United. We have never once viewed West Ham United as a short-term project and plan to be here for many, many years" (
PA, 4/11).
National Rugby League side Parramatta Eels "could face a fresh penalty" of up to A$250,000 ($187,337) from the NSW clubs regulator, adding to the NRL-record A$12.4M ($9.3M) loss the club has "tallied over the past year due to systematic salary cap cheating under its former regime." Under the previous regime, "fraudulent invoices and contracts were allegedly used to systematically cheat" the NRL’s salary cap to the tune of A$3M from '13-16. Meanwhile, Eels and Parramatta Leagues Club Chair Max Donnelly said that he would "fight to reduce the penalty," saying that the club was a "victim of alleged fraud committed by previous officials" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 4/12).
Auckland Rugby Football Union club Te Papapa Onehunga withdrew from the city's premier rugby season "because of a lack of senior players." The club's "decision to call it quits comes just weeks after it appealed a season-long ban received for fielding an ineligible player" in '16. Te Papapa did not field a team in the first round of the season on Saturday and "will not do so for the rest of the season" (STUFF, 4/11).
