CRONULLA Sharks brothers Andrew and David Fifita have been stood down by the club until an investigation into their alleged misconduct at a junior rugby league match is complete.
The Sharks released a statement on Monday afternoon which said they were assessing statements from match officials, ground officials and independent witnesses, and that there were conflicting versions of events.
The players have told the club they intend to defend the more serious charges.
The pair have also been banned from Penrith junior rugby league games for 12 months by a Panthers disciplinary committee.
The ban comes after they watched an A-grade game between St Joseph's and St Mary's at Glenwood on July 25, when David acted as an on-field trainer and Andrew was a spectator.
It has been alleged that at least one brother threatened the referees with physical abuse.
The Fifita twins have five days to decide if they will appeal the Penrith junior rugby league decision at a full hearing, or accept the ban.
The brothers now face code of conduct penalties from Cronulla Sharks and the NRL.
No video footage or photographs of the incident are available because the referee did not film it as had been previously reported.
Sharks chief executive Lyall Gorman said the allegations were of great concern.
"Our players [appear to] have acted very inappropriately in letting themselves down, their teammates down, letting our club down and more importantly the whole game of rugby league," he said.
