Court proceedings aren’t bringing the NPLV saga closer to a logical conclusion, with the FFV and the dissenting clubs still bashing heads.
The 61 clubs opposing the NPLV rollout asked for a court injunction this week, effectively paralyzing the FFV in rolling out their preferred NPL model.
The FFV refrained from announcing their successful NPLV applicants, saying “out of respect for the court process FFV gave a further undertaking to the court not to announce NPL licences before the decision is handed down”.
Now they might not get the chance to at all if the court grants the club’s injunction on Monday.
Mr Daryl Williams S.C, representing Football Federation Victoria, stated an injunction to prevent the naming of applicants would prevent the NPLV from starting next year, naming two consortia – Northern Raiders and West Side Strikers – as allegedly saying that they would be unable to compete in 2015 should there be any further delay in the process.
The NPL has been implemented in the FFV’s future financial forecasts, and their lawyer argued they would unfairly suffer if they had to delay the rollout.
Affidavits were also presented to the court from South Melbourne Chairman Nick Galatas, Chairman of the Mens Standing Committee Harry Zaitman, State Manager of the NPLV Tim Frampton, and FFV Board Member Steven Milicevic.
The FFV were asked to hand over the documents of minutes from meetings between Federation directors discussing the implementation of the NPLV.
In a big move against the FFV, its own Zone representatives in the State met and voted unanimously to a resolution halting the current NPLV.
Seventy-eight per cent of the representatives also voted to unseat the FFV board.
Richmond SC is one of the latest clubs to join the opposing group, taking the number of clubs up to 61. In a statement, the club urged the FFV to stop the “stubborn antics and bullying employed to date and behave in a manner that is befitting its charter, and focus the club funded resources in a manner that provides a positive outcome for football in the state”.
The opposing clubs will meet on October 15 to continue discussions on their proposals for the future of football in Victoria.
If the NPL is placed on pause, it will mean the current Victorian Premier League system will be kept intact.
Source: Mfootball