Recently, there has been a marked trend in the Australian A-League regarding players and clubs mutually terminating a player’s employment contract before its expiry date. For instance, Perth Glory players Mitch Nichols and Marc Warren recently departed the club by mutual consent. In a statement, Perth Glory stated that “the club said Nichols had left due to family reasons, while Warren was allowed to move on in order to explore opportunities elsewhere.”[1] Further, Melbourne City “released last season’s best and fairest winner, out-of-favour player Neil Kilkenny who joined Perth Glory for the rest of the season.”[2] Melbourne City agreed a severance payment to Kilkenny, whereby his exit could also release funds in the salary cap to use on other players. In order to explore this trend, Football Legal’s Australian contributor Peter Paleologos engaged with the Football Federation Australia in a Question and Answer format to some ascertain some of the reasons why the early termination of player contracts was happening in the A-League.
Do the Hyundai A-League and Foxtel Y-League Player Contract Regulations (PCRs) allow for the mutual termination of Standard Player Contracts (SPCs) between players and Hyundai A-League (HAL) clubs? If so, what are the major reasons for the mutual terminations?
The terms in the SPC allow for the mutual termination of a SPC between a HAL club and player. Under the SPC, a HAL club and player can agree to a mutual termination of the player’s SPC, however any arrangement must comply with the PCRs and the Football Federation Australia (FFA) National Registration Regulations (NRRs) which collectively regulate the eligibility, registration, contracting, payments, loan and transfer of players that enter into SPCs with HAL clubs.
The NRRs clause 7.1...
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