Salary cap scandal rocks Australian A-League football team

The head of the Australian A-League condemned football team Perth Glory's salary cap scandal as "serious and significant" on Thursday, after it was handed a second show cause notice by the Football Federation of Australia (FFA).

Glory received a first show cause notice in regards to player payments just last month and was handed its second one on Wednesday.

The Western Australian-based team has enjoyed a successful season in the Australian-based A-League competition, where it has spent the majority of the year on top of the table.

The club has already been accused of not fully disclosing details in regards to player payments in the past, but this time around, A-League boss Damien de Bohun said that the Glory has a "whole range of information that needs to be explained".

"The show-cause notice which we've issued to Perth Glory alleges the non-disclosure of payments and benefits," de Bohun said on Thursday.

"We obviously take situations of deliberate concealment much more seriously than simple administrative mistakes and debates around interpretations of the regulations.

"The amount of the alleged breaches would place Perth Glory significantly over the salary cap this year."

The media statement from the FFA said that Perth Glory's alleged breaches include "failure to disclose reportable payments and exceeding the salary cap", which includes payments to players, travel costs, motor vehicles allowances, accommodation allowances, payments to player agents and family members.

Despite the serious allegations, de Bohun said that protecting the integrity of the league, which is only ten years old, and its clubs was paramount.

"On behalf of every fan of the A-League the other nine clubs, our broadcasters and sponsors we have an obligation to enforce these regulations to ensure the integrity of the competition."

Perth Glory has one week to respond to the show cause notices issued by the FFA, with potential punishments if it is found guilty ranging from fines to having match wins taken off it.

"We're waiting for Perth to come back with a formal response to our show-cause notice," de Bohun said.

"There's a whole range of sanctions available for those who know the regulations well, it could be anything from a fine through to suspension of points."

De Bohun said that the ideal outcome was to deal with the issue before the finals, where Perth is expected to play a leading role. Endi