Local rugby league referee issues warning after indecent act

The player at the centre of the viral Hopoate-style lewd footy act has learned his fate. SEE THE LATEST

The player at the centre of the viral Hopoate-style lewd footy act has been handed a whopping six month suspension.

This masthead understands the penalty was handed down on Friday, and could be set to sideline the player out for the rest of the season and a significant portion of 2026.

Earlier

A Far North Queensland rugby league umpire has been captured on video reprimanding a player for purportedly engaging in a lewd act.

The referee was officiating an A-grade game in the FNQ Rugby League between Mossman-Port Douglas Sharks and Innisfail Leprechauns, and stopped the game after claiming he saw what can only be described as an indecent act.

During a scrum, the referee said he noticed the untoward behaviour by a Sharks player, immediately blowing his whistle and saying “none of that, not poking him like that” and awarding a penalty to the Leprechauns

A Mossman player then came up to ask for an explanation for the decision, to which the referee simply responded “he stuck his finger up his bum, I’m not gonna have that.”

The incident harkens back to the infamous John Hopoate incident from 2001, where he inserted fingers in three North Queensland Cowboys players’ buttocks and anuses.

The FNQRL declined to comment, citing an ongoing match review and judicial process.

Mossman-Port Douglas Sharks have been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Local rugby league referee issues warning after indecent act