Mark Coyne will ‘hand in resignation’ if asked to by ARLC

Origin and Dragons legend Mark Coyne will fight for his future at the ARL Commission despite stepping aside from his position following his arrest in Singapore. SEE THE CHARGE SHEET.

• ARRESTED: Coyne’s Singapore scandal

• ROCK BOTTOM: NRL star considered ending it all

Mark Coyne says he is “mortified and shocked” by his expletive laden rant which could end his short stint as an ARL Commissioner.

Coyne has stood aside in his role on the ARLC but won’t step down until he has an opportunity to address the rest of his commissioners. He won’t get to do that until at least the end of next week with chairman Peter Beattie on leave but Coyne said he will quit if he is asked to.

Coyne only joined the commission in February and he was quickly earmarked as a potential successor to Beattie.

“It is going to be hard because I really love the game and I thought I was contributing pretty positively in the three or four months that I had been on there,” Coyne said.

Mark Coyne arrives in Sydney with wife Annie by his side. Picture: Toby Zerna

“It would have been nice to keep contributing. But I get where I am at and what I have done. I understand the ramifications and if that is that I have to come off the commission, so be it.”

“Peter is back at the end of this month. I imagine when he is back we will organise the meeting with the commission. They will decide what the right things is for me to do. If they wish me to resign, then I will resign.

“The game has always been great at forgiving, particularly from a player’s point of view. The roles are esteemed roles and you probably can’t afford to have an indiscretion like I have had. So I understand that it is a fairly significant black mark against my name.”

Mark Coyne at Sydney Airport this afternoon. Picture: Toby Zerna

Coyne was arrested in Singapore. Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images.

Coyne returned to Sydney yesterday with wife Annie having spent the past six weeks in Singapore where his passport was confiscated.

A contrite Coyne again expressed his remorse for his actions which led to him being fined $4100 in a Singapore court on Wednesday.

The Daily Telegraph obtained the charge sheet from Singaporean police which outlined the tirade which could have resulted in Coyne spending 12 months in jail.

According to the charge sheet Coyne “used insulting words towards Sergeant Dominic Song Guo Quan of the Singapore Police Force, a public servant, in relation to the execution of his duty as such public servant.”

The charge sheet following Mark Coyne's arrest in Singapore.

Part of the words used include Coyne calling the policeman a “dog” and a “cock”.

Among the other insults Coyne said;

“F--king stupid idiot, you guys are f--king crazy, you guys must be f—king embarrassed.”

The incident occurred between 1.49 am and 2.15 am on June 2.

“It is not normal for me at all,” Coyne said.

“I am not a big drinker. I am like the swearing police at home with my kids. I only saw the language on Tuesday…(I am) mortified and shocked.

“I read it once and I haven’t been able to read that statement of facts again. It is not my normal behaviour.

Coyne has stood down from his position on the ARLC. Picture by Craig Greenhill.

“You only have to look at the things I have achieved in my life to recognise that it was completely out of character.”

Coyne has been criticised for not reporting the incident earlier. He only told Beattie on Tuesday afternoon.

“I was only charged on Tuesday, immediately after I was charged I let Peter Beattie know,” Coyne said. “The next day I went to court and pleaded guilty.

“The reason I didn’t self report earlier was obviously because I was very concerned from the advice that I got that it would jeopardise my case and result in my being incarcerated.

“It was a personal choice I had to make. Again, I was protecting myself and my family. There will be ramifications around that and I understand that.”