Paul Gallen has been fined $50,000 and banned from playing for Australia next year over his Twitter tirade against the NRL.
The NRL announced on Monday that the Cronulla Sharks captain would be ineligible to be selected for the Kangaroos in 2015 unless he successfully completes a leader's accountability course. His eligibility will ultimately be determined by an ARLC panel.
NRL chief executive Dave Smith labelled the tweet, in which he wrote "Steve Noice (sic) actually cared about players from cronulla's feelings. Couldn't say that about any other c--- from Nrl", a clear breach of the code of conduct and said it was "aggravated by the fact that Gallen, as captain of the NSW Blues, holds an important leadership position in the game".
Gallen has seven days to respond to the breach notice. Smith said the $50,000 fine was the maximum the NRL could impose on a player for a breach of the code of conduct and it had been determined in collaboration with the Cronulla Sharks.
Sharks chairman Damian Keogh said the club supported the strong sanctions. "The last two years have been a difficult period for the Sharks and our focus is on performing strongly on and off the field in 2015," he said. "So it is disappointing to have the club involved in this sort of issue as we prepare for next season."
Smith said the NRL would also discuss the NSW captaincy issue with the NSWRL which is responsible for Origin selection. "Origin is one of our flagship properties and we do not want it to be undermined in any way," he said.
Gallen said he had tried to contact Smith following his Twitter tirade against the code's governing body.
Earlier on Monday, Gallen announced his second professional fight against former teammate Anthony Watts on December 3 on the undercard of Daniel Geale and Jarrod Fletcher's bout.
Gallen, who returned from a holiday in Hawaii, had already taken to social media to apologise. "I tried to ring Dave Smith and the club within minutes of getting off the plane," Gallen said. "I haven't got hold of him yet. I don't know what's going on. I'm here for the fight. I put something on Twitter. I used language I should've have used. I'm here to talk about boxing. Boxing has given me a massive focus apart from rugby league. I'm looking forward to training. I haven't been able to train for a long time for different reasons."
An NRL spokesman confirmed Smith had made contact with Gallen via text. The spokesman said Smith wrote to Gallen on Saturday; "thanking him for making an effort to make contact and they would talk once the matter was concluded".
Gallen has had a turbulent two years, culminating in his ongoing ban by ASADA following an investigation into Cronulla's supplement program. The ban – which ends on November 21 – ruled Gallen out of Australia's Four Nations squad.
Gallen also dodged talk of reports he had been suffering depression. "It's an issue, not for me to talk about at the moment," Gallen said. "I support people who come out and talk about it. I encourage people to talk about it. It's a very serious issue. I won't be discussing it with anyone I don't know or trust."
Having knocked out Herman Ene-Purcell in his debut bout in February, Gallen said he was looking at stepping back into the ring.
He'll fight one-time teammate Watts, who is looking to overcome his own demons. Trouble has followed Watts since being sacked after five top-grade games for the Sharks in 2007. Watts – who was jailed earlier this year after being mixed up with bikie gangs on the Gold Coast – will have his first fight on November 6 before a likely showdown with Gallen should he come through the bout unscathed.
"I know Anthony Watts is really keen to fight me," Gallen said. "About 12 months ago our media manager [at Cronulla] came running onto the field asking if I was fighting Anthony Watts. I had no idea what he was talking about. But apparently he told a judge he needed bail because he had to fight Paul Gallen. That was the first I heard of it. Ever since then he has been calling [promoter] Garrie [Francisco] saying he wants to fight me. I know Anthony. He is a good kid. I got on all right with him when I played with him. When he left us, every time I saw him around the footy traps I spoke to him.
"There is no bad blood there. He is obviously trying to turn his life around which I take my hat off to him."
Gallen is hopeful of fighting again before next year's NRL season starts with a mooted bout against the undefeated Kimbo Slice.
Meanwhile, Geale will return to the ring for the first time since losing his world title shot against Gennady Golovkin in July. He'll fight good friend Fletcher for the IBF Pan Pacific and WBO Oriental middleweight titles. "It's frustrating losing," Geale said. "Jarrod and I have joked after sparring session that we will have at some stage. We are good mates but when it's time to jump in the ring that all changes."
Sydney Roosters youngster Willis Meehan will also have his professional fight against Willie Nasio.
