NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg has revealed that integrity unit chief Nick Weeks urged *players to delete gambling apps from their phones in an attempt to take away the temptation which now threatens the career of Wests Tigers centre Tim Simona.
Weeks, who was promoted to chief operating officer of the NRL last week after previously heading up the integrity unit, addressed players from across the NRL at a *series of briefings last year, a move designed to heighten awareness over the threat of gambling in the game.
Simona has become the latest player to fall foul of the game’s gambling guidelines amid allegations he bet on opposition players to score tries — he is currently serving provisional suspension, which meant he was sidelined for the Tigers’ opening game of the season against South Sydney on Friday night.
The 25-year-old is expected to front the NRL at some point this week to plead his case, although the widely held belief is that he faces a long stint on the sidelines, possibly even a life ban from the sport.
Greenberg said players no longer had excuses for breaching the game’s stringent gambling guidelines, something he outlined in an interview with radio Triple M yesterday.
“Last year I visited all 16 clubs and I had Nick Weeks, who heads up our integrity unit, with me,” Greenberg said. “I remember (he said) ... ‘if you’ve got apps on your phone and you want to bet on other sports that’s entirely your choice. But my strong advice to you is have those apps off your phone because in three clicks you could be betting on something. You might enjoy that in other things, in racing or other sports, but if you’re a fully-fledged NRL contracted player our strong advice was stay away from it. It was super and crystal clear to every player that we visited and should be in the future.”
Simona was expected to front the NRL integrity unit last week but asked for an extension to respond to the allegations outlined by the NRL. He is expected to plead for clemency and, if that fails, his last option will be to front the NRL Appeals Tribunal in a desperate attempt to save his career.
Greenberg refused to be drawn on whether the game would hand Simona a life ban, as many have called for should the allegations be made out. However, he hinted that a severe penalty was in line for any player who ignored the warnings to avoid gambling on rugby league games.
“Obviously there are always two sides to every story and we’ve got to deal with facts and evidence but some of the things I’ve seen and read ... just can’t be stood for in the game,” Greenberg said.
“There are things that happen in the game where people make errors and mistakes and I think the game has been very forgiving over a period of time. It has a great history and track record of making sure people get second *chances. “But there are also things that absolutely are the fundamental integrity of the sport itself and this is one of those. I’ve seen so much education provided to young footballers about what they can and can’t do.
“It goes from whether it’s drugs or whether it’s wagering. There should be no player in the NRL who is under false pretence that betting on rugby league is on. If you do want to bet on rugby league, that’s entirely your choice.
“But guess what, you can’t be an NRL contracted player. You can’t have both, so make a decision.”
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I guess you can't trust rugby in Australia?
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