FORMER Socceroo David Carney has almost certainly played his last game for the Newcastle Jets, despite the club abandoning its attempt to have him sacked for disciplinary reasons.
Carney, who has another year to run on his contract with Newcastle, trained with his teammates on Friday but will not join them on Saturday on the flight to Wellington for Sunday’s game against the Phoenix.
Jets officials withdraw a claim on Thursday for an alleged code-of-conduct breach by Carney, averting an FFA arbitration hearing.
It seems they will now try to negotiate a pay-out figure, although Carney also has the option of staying with Newcastle to honour a deal worth more than $200,000 a season.
PFA chief executive Adam Vivian said on Thursday that Carney ‘‘remains completely committed to the Jets and is eager to put the matter behind him and focus on helping the club climb up the ladder’’.
But he appears highly unlikely to be given that opportunity.
Jets coach Phil Stubbins declined to directly answer whether Carney would be considered for selection, but the club’s new chief executive, Mitchell Murphy, was more forthcoming.
‘‘Quite clearly the club prior to my arrival had made a decision that David Carney was not required for the playing group moving forward,’’ Murphy said.
‘‘We as a club made a decision very, very specifically about the breach notice. It was quite public what we did there.
See your ad here
‘‘In terms of his situation of returning to the playing group, nothing has changed.’’
Asked it that meant he was unlikely to be selected, Murphy replied: ‘‘I think that’s an accurate assessment.’’
Stubbins said the Jets were ‘‘trying to work out a pathway forward’’ that would suit both parties.
‘‘We’re doing everything we can behind the scenes amicably, working within the guidelines of the contractual situation and also with the PFA,’’ he said.
Stubbins said Carney ‘‘won’t be going to Wellington’’ and repeated the same comment when asked if the 31-year-old would be considered for Newcastle’s next game.
Carney was one of five players and three coaching-staff members who Jets owner Nathan Tinkler declared three weeks ago had been sacked.
Joel Griffiths and Kew Jaliens have both signed release forms this week, but Carney, Billy Celeski and Adrian Madaschi are yet to accept termination deals.
Murphy confirmed on Friday that Tinkler still owed players and staff a reported $400,000 in superannuation, despite assurances it would be paid last week.
‘‘The superannuation has not been paid,’’ Murphy said.
‘‘As we’ve said, we’re in dialogue with the FFA about some time lines around when we’ll be in a position to clear those liabilities, and that’s the current status.’’
With regard to the Australian Tax Office garnishee order that has been placed on Tinkler’s companies, Murphy did not want to speculate about when that might be resolved.
‘‘That’s a complex situation that we continue to work on behind the scenes,’’ he said.
‘‘We’re moving as fast as we can to resolve that matter.’’