Free to play: David Fifita avoids sanction for Bali bust-up after ‘inconclusive’ evidence
Brisbane star David Fifita is free to play Round 1 of the 2020 NRL season, despite the video evidence of his Bali nightclub incident.
NRL
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Brisbane star David Fifita will be free to play Round 1 after avoiding any sanction from the NRL following the incident in Bali that saw him jailed for three days last month.
The 19-year-old was locked up in November after an alleged incident involving a nightclub security guard.
The Broncos were by the forward’s side throughout the situation and helped broker a “peace agreement” with the alleged victim.
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It’s been reported that the legal fees cost Fifita upwards of $30,000, while the Broncos say they offered no financial assistance.
In the NRL's defence re: Fifita, it sounds like they found it very difficult to find out exactly what had happened. There was also a recognition that the judicial system in Bali works far differently to here in terms of compensation and settlements
— Brent Read (@brentread_7) December 19, 2019
Not sure how fining Fifita and/or suspending him for a couple of games would have impacted on their success. Fact is NRL couldn't get any clear evidence of what happened. CCTV footage was grainy and unclear. Understand concerns of other clubs, particularly Melbourne after NAS
— Brent Read (@brentread_7) December 19, 2019
BRONCOS statement re no punishment for Fifita "We trust David's version of events in that he did not commit an assault.... "The NRL has found we acted appropriately in at-times challenging circumstances."
— Chris Garry (@ChrisGarry7) December 19, 2019
The NRL said evidence regarding the incident was “inconclusive” while the actions of the Broncos in assisting Fifita’s release from prison was appropriate.
“The NRL’s Integrity Unit says evidence relating to the incident outside a Bali nightclub was inconclusive,” an NRL statement said on Thursday.
“The NRL said it was satisfied that the actions of the Broncos club were appropriate in the circumstances.”
NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said it was important the game made evidence-based decisions about player behaviour.
“It is important that our determinations are based on the evidence before us,” Greenberg said.
“In this case, after analysing a multitude of evidence we cannot say with certainty that a breach has occurred.”
The Broncos also issued a statement on Thursday with chief executive Paul White confirmed the club would not be penalising Fifita.
“We are satisfied with the NRL’s decision on this matter – David will pull on a Broncos jersey to play Round 1 and we feel that is a fair result for him and for the club,” White said.
“We trust David’s version of events in that he did not commit an assault, but we understand that the Integrity Unit had a job to do. We have respected that process from the very start and cooperated every step of the way.
“As a club, our main focus was to ensure David returned home safely and we were able to work together to achieve that – and the NRL has found that we acted appropriately in at-times challenging circumstances.”
Originally published as Free to play: David Fifita avoids sanction for Bali bust-up after ‘inconclusive’ evidence