NRL grand final hero faces long ban for alleged heated incident with a referee during a footy match
Andrew Fifita was playing for De La Salle during a clash against the Gymea Gorillas last weekend when the incident took place.
Fifita made 213 appearances for Cronulla Sharks and was a part of the team that won their maiden premiership title in 2016, notably scoring a try that led to the game-winning conversion.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the 36-year-old is alleged to have called a referee a '****' during the first half of the match.
He is now facing a five-match suspension over the matter, having been slapped with a Grade Two offensive language charge.
'He has pleaded not guilty and will face a judiciary hearing tomorrow night,' an NSWRL spokesperson said.
Fifita, pictured with his wife Nikitia, denied that he had directed the comment toward the referee
'The NSWRL will make no further comment until the judicial matter is complete.'
It also now means that Cronulla will be under the spotlight to sack the former footy star, should he be found guilty, who is the coach of their Tarsha Gale women's junior representative side.
The prop forward is also employed by the Sharks as part of its culture and welfare team.
'It's an awkward situation because of his profile and the coaching position,' sources close to the club said to Nine's Wide World of Sports.
Cronulla executive Dino Mezzatesta revealed that he has spoken with Fifita about the incident, with the forward insisting that he had not made the alleged comment towards the referee.
'Andrew was sent off for swearing, but he has advised the club he didn't direct it at the referee it was directed at an opposing player, who has also confirmed that the comment was directed at him,' Mezzatesta said.
'He has also acknowledged that the language was inappropriate all the same.
'Andrew is waiting for a date from NSWRL for his hearing, where he will be contesting the charge.
'The Cronulla Sharks will wait for this process to be completed.'
It's not the first time that the footy player has found himself in front of a rugby league tribunal after he and his brother, David, were once stood down from playing junior rugby league games in Penrith for 12 months.
Fifita had been accused of physically threatening a referee, following a match between Penrith Juniors and St Patricks in 2015.
His brother, David, was also accused of swearing at the referee, telling the official 'you're a f***ing disgrace mate.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The NRL smashes team with an UNPRECEDENTED punishment after low act that left fans outraged
The NRL has handed Penrith its biggest up-front fine since COVID-19 bubble breaches, ordering the Panthers to pay $50,000 and lose trainer Corey Bocking until the finals over a controversial incident from the win over Gold Coast. Gold Coast halfback Jayden Campbell was incensed when Bocking ran in front of him just as he was lining up for a sideline conversion that could have given the Titans a four-point lead in the final minutes on Saturday. After Campbell missed the shot, Nathan Cleary kicked a two-point field goal that sent the game to extra time, where Blaize Talagi broke the Titans' hearts with the match-winning try. On Monday, the NRL hit the Panthers with a hefty breach notice that factored in the four-time reigning premiers' history of trainer misconduct. Bocking will be suspended for the Panthers' last five games of the regular season, with the club also needing to pay $50,000. It is the single biggest sum handed down by the NRL as an up-front fine since Cronulla's Josh Dugan was docked $50,000 for his second COVID-19 biosecurity breach in 2021. The game's only larger fines since then have come from clubs directly to players rather than from the league itself. 'It is alleged the trainer unnecessarily interfered with and distracted Gold Coast Titans player Jayden Campbell as he was attempting a conversion kick, in breach of the NRL operations manual and NRL code of conduct,' an NRL statement said. 'The proposed penalty takes into account previous breaches by Penrith Panthers trainers. 'The NRL rules permitting club trainers onto the field will be monitored and strictly enforced by the NRL.' Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said at full-time that Bocking made 'an honest mistake' and had been running to the bench to communicate a late change in substitutions. The club released a statement on Monday afternoon doubling down on this claim. 'The club is adamant that the actions of the trainer were an honest mistake and there was no intent to breach the rules or gain an advantage. The trainer immediately apologised upon realising the error,' said a Panthers spokesperson. 'The circumstances involved a late change and in-the-moment confusion, but we understand that does not excuse the outcome.' AAP has been told Penrith are likely to accept the sanctions as they aim for nine consecutive wins against Newcastle this Friday. The NRL reviews all its rules at the end of each season but currently there are no firm plans to change rules to reward teams that are on the receiving end of similar incidents. The breach comes as the Panthers await news on co-captain Isaah Yeo, who hurt his right shoulder earlier in the win over Gold Coast. The superstar lock initially played through the pain of his injury but was taken from the field with 30 minutes to play and went for scans on return to Sydney on Sunday afternoon. Earlier in the season, Penrith were fined $10,000 after trainer Shane Elford squirted water on the ball during a match against North Queensland, who were also fined as their trainer Mitch Dunn did the same thing. The NRL memorably also fined Penrith $25,000 in 2021 when a trainer requested the semi-final against Parramatta be stopped so he could attend to an injured Mitch Kenny in the final minutes. The Eels had been on the attack at the time and chasing a potentially game-winning try but had their momentum stifled by the stoppage, which was found to have occurred without Green performing a mandatory initial assessment on Kenny. The Panthers held on to win the game and eliminate the Eels from finals contention but lost Green to suspension as they went on to win the 2021 grand final.
The Independent
36 minutes ago
- The Independent
Lions' Dan Sheehan handed four-match suspension for reckless clearout of Tom Lynagh
British and Irish Lions hooker Dan Sheehan has been suspended for four matches following his illegal clearout of Australia's Tom Lynagh during Saturday's third Test in Sydney. The sanction will be reduced to three games, subject to the Ireland and Leinster player successfully completing a coaching intervention course. Sheehan's challenge in the first half of the Lions' 22-12 loss at Accor Stadium went unpunished by Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli before he was retrospectively cited. Replays showed the 26-year-old's elbow appeared to make contact with his opponent's head. Wallabies fly-half Lynagh kicked a penalty moments after the incident but was then withdrawn for a head injury assessment (HIA) and did not return. Sheehan will be unavailable for Leinster's pre-season clash with Cardiff on September 13 and United Rugby Championship (URC) fixtures against South African sides the Stormers and the Sharks on September 26 and October 11 respectively. If he serves the full four-match ban, the forward will also sit out his province's URC clash with rivals Munster on October 18. World Rugby's independent review committee deemed Sheehan's actions to be reckless, that contact was made with Lynagh's head, and ruled the action amounted to a high degree of danger without mitigation. Sheehan, who was captaining the Lions at the time after skipper Maro Itoje failed an HIA, has accepted the sanction. However, in his submissions, the player did not agree foul play occurred or that the offence warranted the citing. Despite their weekend loss, Andy Farrell's Lions celebrated a 2-1 series success over Australia following victories in Brisbane and Melbourne.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Dan Sheehan handed four-match suspension for reckless clearout of Tom Lynagh
British and Irish Lions hooker Dan Sheehan has been suspended for four matches following his illegal clearout of Australia's Tom Lynagh during Saturday's third Test in Sydney. The sanction will be reduced to three games, subject to the Ireland and Leinster player successfully completing a coaching intervention course. Advertisement Sheehan's challenge in the first half of the Lions' 22-12 loss at Accor Stadium went unpunished by Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli before he was retrospectively cited. Dan Sheehan started all three of the British and Irish Lions' Tests in Australia (Robbie Stephenson/PA) Replays showed the 26-year-old's elbow appeared to make contact with his opponent's head. Wallabies fly-half Lynagh kicked a penalty moments after the incident but was then withdrawn for a head injury assessment (HIA) and did not return. Sheehan will be unavailable for Leinster's pre-season clash with Cardiff on September 13 and United Rugby Championship (URC) fixtures against South African sides the Stormers and the Sharks on September 26 and October 11 respectively. Advertisement If he serves the full four-match ban, the forward will also sit out his province's URC clash with rivals Munster on October 18. Australia fly-half Tom Lynagh, right, failed a head injury assessment following Dan Sheehan's challenge. Photo: David Davies/PA. World Rugby's independent review committee deemed Sheehan's actions to be reckless, that contact was made with Lynagh's head, and ruled the action amounted to a high degree of danger without mitigation. Sheehan, who was captaining the Lions at the time after skipper Maro Itoje failed an HIA, has accepted the sanction. However, in his submissions, the player did not agree foul play occurred or that the offence warranted the citing. Advertisement Despite their weekend loss, Andy Farrell's Lions celebrated a 2-1 series success over Australia following victories in Brisbane and Melbourne.
