NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has labelled allegations of rape levelled at a Queensland-based player “very serious” with investigations under way to get all details.
The allegations were first reported on Wednesday night that a complaint was made to police involving a player from a Queensland club who has also played State of Origin.
News Corp reported the player and a woman had been drinking heavily on the night of the alleged incident.
Watch every game of every round this NRL Telstra Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >
The woman then made a formal complaint to police of being digitally raped.
Queensland police and the NRL integrity unit are investigating and Abdo addressed the allegations while speaking to the media on Thursday morning just hours before the first women’s State of Origin kicked off Magic Round.
“These are very serious allegations,” he said.
“We are working with the relevant parties to find out more, and obviously as we find out more, we’ll be able to say more.
“At this stage, all I can say is that it’s very disappointing to hear about these allegations that are very serious.
“We have policies in place to deal with these things should they eventuate. We’ll deal with the facts once we know more.”
Abdo said it was too early to implement the NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy that was brought in five years ago for players who have been charged with serious criminal offences that involve a maximum jail term of 11 years or more.
“It’s all speculation at the moment so I can’t really comment on it until we know all the facts,” he said.
“Once we know the facts, we can make decisions based around our policies and respecting the relevant legislation as well.”
Source Agencies
