There has been much speculation over whether players could walk away from their deals if they wished. The World Game spoke to Professional Footballers Australia chief executive Adam Vivian to establish exactly where the players stood.
"There are only two reasons a player can terminate his contract, and each time the player would have to put the club on notice," Vivian said.
"One is for a financial breach, where the player is unpaid. He would have to put the club on 14 days' notice and should the club not remedy it, the player would have the opportunity to terminate the contract.
"The second is a material, non-financial breach. The player would have to put the club on 21 days' notice to remedy it, and if the club can't remedy, then, again, the player can reserve his right to terminate the contract."
Penalties handed down by Football Federation Australia to Perth for cheating the salary cap included the club being barred from competing in the finals series, which it was certain to qualify for in one of the top four of the six available places at the time it was penalised.
FFA chose to drop Glory to finish seventh at the end of the regular season.
Being barred from the finals also cost the players any chance of the team qualifying for inclusion in next year's AFC Asian Champions League.
TWG put it to Vivian that, unlike a financial breach of contract which can be remedied, there was no apparent way Perth could remedy the players missing out on the finals and losing the chance to qualify for the ACL.
Vivian responded: "At this stage, yes, I think that's a fair assumption, however the process would be that you've still got to afford the club the opportunity to respond.
"They've got to be afforded every opportunity to go through a process, so whilst it may be considered that they can't remedy it under the circumstances, they still have to be afforded the opportunity."
Contracted Perth players have recently been in contact with the PFA to try to establish what their legal options are in the wake of the salary cap penalties being handed down on the club.
In the end, FFA found Glory to be in excess of the $2.55 million.
The process that could result in some players who are contracted beyond this season seeking to exit those deals will speed up in the wake of Perth playing its final game of the season, against Western Sydney Wanderers at Pirtek Stadium on Saturday.
Vivian said the PFA had advised the players to first talk to the Perth club management.
"At this stage I think the players are going to go to the club and try and have a conversation with them," Vivian said.
"The players have also indicated they wanted us to research their legal options with regards to their contractual status, and obviously that is well within their rights.
"We still have to formulate a certain position on this, because we still have some legal research to do, but our position at this stage would probably suggest that the breach of the salary cap would be a material breach of the standard player contract.
"Under the terms of the contract, all three parties - the club, FFA and the player - have obligations to respect the rules, and it is suggested the club, based on the sanction that was handed down by FFA from its findings, has breached the rules.
"That could be considered a material breach of the player contract.
"It's early days. We haven't had any players come forward and say 'this is the path we want to go down', but in the background we will obviously make sure that the players' rights are protected and that they continue to be well-informed as they go into the process.
"Their focus this week has been on playing their last game. Then they will weigh up their options."
It is understood some Perth players are seriously considering exiting their contracts.
The worry for Perth, if the club was unable to convince them to stay or stop them legally, that it would obviously be the better-performed players who would be more likely to leave since they would be more likely to get an equal or better deal elsewhere.
Other players may be better off staying, depending on what their deal is like at Perth and whether opportunities elsewhere are limited.
"There are only 230 jobs for players in the league," Vivian said. "So it's not like they (the Perth playing roster) are flush with other options to work elsewhere.
"The other thing is the club may pro-actively be trying to explain to the players that there have been issues at the club and they've identified those issues.
"Those issues are being dealt with in the form of (FFA) punishment, but also turnover in staff, obviously. The club would be proactively saying 'guys, let's stick together' and stuff like that. The players would be looking for assurances regarding the future.
"Ultimately, what the players will do come the end of the season is consider their options moving forward.
"No players have indicated to us that they want out at this stage. They have been concentrating on the last game and once they've got a clear head and have had opportunities to have conversations with the club and seek assurances and explore their options, then they will go from there.
"They certainly want to know what their options are."
Vivian said there would be increased contact between the PFA and the Perth players in the wake of the last game.
"We have presented to the players on a number occasions now, as a collective," he said.
"The contractual status is different from player to player. There isn't going to be a whole club walking out or anything like that. Some players have got extended deals, some don't have a deal next season, it's a different process for each individual.
"They've got families to consider, they want to consult with their agents, so we're not going to usher them down any path. We just want them to make an informed decision with all the information available. We've got to give them all of the information, so that they've got the best possible advice.
"After the season is over we'll take the opportunity to have a chat to the boys one on one and also deal with any approaches from them to us.
"Some of them live away from their families, as well, so the season ending will give them the chance to talk to them properly.
"It would be premature to suggest how many may be interested in getting out of their contracts. They will be able to get a lot more clarity about their situations once the season is over."
