NRL CEO Andrew Abdo has defended issuing suspensions to Roosters lock Victor Radley and Dragons five-eighth Corey Norman following a pair of off-field incidents.
Norman was handed a one-match ban and a $10,000 fine following an incident in Cronulla in January where he and former NRL player James Segeyaro were involved in a street fight.
It was alleged by the pair that Segeyaro was the target of racial taunts from the group of men, declaring that they were acting in self-defence.
He was joined on the sidelines for round one by Radley, who was issued with a two-match ban over a scuffle in Byron Bay in the off-season, with the 22-year-old alleged to have tackled a man to the ground after he pushed a woman.
The pair of incidents raised questions over the treatment of players, with Broncos captain Alex Glenn accusing the NRL of failing to protect them.
Abdo has lashed back at these claims, confirming that they would continue to sanction players when they take it beyond defending themselves or others.
“Let me be clear, I’ve given this message to the players, if a player is acting in self-defence or is protecting someone, there is no question about that. If someone is observing a female being assault and they take action, there is no issue with that,” he told Triple M.
“However, acts of vengeance or opportunities to defuse and walk away from a situation before it escalates and to avoid a public spat or violence is not just the standards you expect of an NRL player, that’s the standards expected in society.
“Acting on vengeance or taking revenge for a misdeed because someone else has been foolish is not adequate and is not a reason to not be sanctioned if you make that decision. As is misleading the club or the Integrity Unit.
“There is a wide range of facts here and we will always defend the player if they were ever abused, verbally or physically. They are entitled to defend themselves but taking the laws into your own hands when the situation can be avoided, that’s very different.”
When asked about whether he was referring to Norman and Radley by rugby league legend Mark Geyer, Abdo hinted that the stories told by various parties may differ from what had occurred.
“Each person will portray their story in a slightly different way,” he added.
“I’m trying to be as diplomatic and professional as possible, all I’ll say is we have an Integrity Unit, we work extensively with the facts. We interview players, witnesses, we look at video evidence if that’s available and then we make a determination.
“In these cases, I’ve spoken to both players directly and whilst I have empathy for some of the situations they find themselves in…you can’t react to that and you can't react with violence and we have to maintain that standard.”
