Rasic 'failed To Honour Loan Deal'
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday March 27, 1995
Former Socceroo coach Rale Rasic did not "keep his end of the bargain" involving a $176,000 personal loan, the Senate soccer inquiry has been told.
A Parramatta Eagles club member, Joseph Zarb, has given new evidence to the inquiry that a deal was formulated under which Rasic would employ an assistant coach, Washington Gonzales. Rasic would pay Gonzales's wages with part of a $15,000 debt that Rasic owed Zarb.
Zarb said this proposal was accepted but only partly honoured by Rasic, who was then the Parramatta Eagles and NSW coach.
Zarb alleged that a separate financial deal between him and Rasic involved the refinancing of a $176,000 loan by Rasic, reducing the interest paid from about 15 per cent to 3 per cent on the strict understanding that Gonzales would continue to be employed as assistant coach.
The loan was refinanced but Rasic failed to re-employ Gonzales, Zarb said.
"Mr Rasic, although he received the benefit of my lowinterest loan, has not kept his end of the bargain and did not employ Mr Gonzales as his assistant coach," Zarb said.
Zarb also told the inquiry that:
* At least four soccer players were enticed to play for the (Melita) club on the express representation that they would be aided by club officials in their pursuit of obtaining permanent residency in Australia.
* Some players and coaches have been paid in cash without tax instalments being deducted.
* He made three requests to inspect club cash books, wages books and minute books but was refused.
Rasic says he wants to respond to allegations raised in the Stewart Report into alleged corruption in Australian soccer, but he does not want to appear publicly before the Senate inquiry.
Through his lawyer, Simon Konstantinidis, Rasic has threatened defamation action against Justice Donald Stewart, author of the Stewart Report, and against media outlets which published the report's allegations.
The Stewart Report alleged that Rasic told Peter Gajic, the father of soccer player Milan Gajic, that Milan would not be picked in the Australian Youth team unless he paid $10,000 to national youth coach Les Scheinflug.
In a letter to the Senate inquiry, Mr Konstantinidis said: "We seek of you that you do not allow your committee to become a vehicle to perpetrate the malicious and unfounded attacks on our client.
"Mr Rasic wishes to make a response to that (Stewart) report. However, thanks to the publication of that report it is now sought that Mr Rasic be interviewed by the NSW police.
"It places Mr Rasic in an impossible position if he should be compelled by a report whose conclusions in relation to him are based on scurrilous and false publications. He denies the allegations here and will deny it anywhere else it is raised."
Zarb, in a written submission to the inquiry, said that over the past four years he had become concerned about some practices adopted by Melita Soccer Club directors and club officials.
In other developments in the inquiry, former Melbourne City president Alfio Bulic, who Justice Stewart recommended should not hold any future office of a soccer organisation because of his actions concerning the transfer of Vlado Bozinoski from Footscray JUST to Belgium Club Brugge, has denied any wrongdoing to the inquiry.
But he said the honesty and actions of Club Brugge agents Israel Maoz and Jacques De Nolf were seriously in question and should be investigated.
© 1995 Sydney Morning Herald
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