Rugby league standout Ben Barba, who has also had stints in France and England, was yesterday kicked out of the sport in Australia over allegations of domestic violence.
The Dally M medalist, who was previously embroiled in a cocaine scandal, had already been sacked by his club North Queensland Cowboys and has now been deregistered by the National Rugby League (NRL).
The decision followed the NRL’s integrity unit viewing video footage of a physical altercation between Barba and his partner, Ainslie Currie, at a casino in the Cowboys’ home city of Townsville.
Australian media published photographs of Currie with cuts and bruises to her face.
“I’m not going to call for [a worldwide ban], but there’s no place for him [in Australia]. It’s time for Ben Barba to find a new vocation,” NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg told reporters.
“Where we see violence against women we’ll act in the strongest terms,” Greenberg said. “We’re going to get tougher and stronger on players that do the wrong thing because we cannot afford the damage it does to our game.”
Barba’s career first spiraled out of control when he tested positive for cocaine in 2015. He did so again a year later and was booted from his former club Cronulla Sharks.
He was taken on by French Top 14 rugby union club Toulon, but was soon axed before moving to St Helens in the English Super League, where he rebuilt his career and won the Man of Steel award.
The domestic violence scandal is another blow for rugby league, which has spent years trying to change its reputation for bad behavior after a series of scandals.
Last year, high-profile star Jarryd Hayne and St George Illawarra’s Jack de Belin were charged with sexual assault.
Two Canterbury Bulldogs players were also charged with obscene exposure after being pictured vomiting and stripping naked at a pub.
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