David Fifita stood down by Wakefield after refusing to wear GPS tracker in breach of COVID rules
UK club Wakefield has cracked down on former Cronulla Sharks player David Fifita for the “foreseeable future” after he breached COVID rules.
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Former Cronulla Sharks player David Fifita has been stood down indefinitely by his UK club for breaching COVID-19 rules.
Wakefield cracked down on Fifita, 31, on Friday night, announcing he would be out of the side for the “foreseeable future”.
He had refused to wear a GPS tracker during a game against Catalans Dragons, the team that Israel Folau plays for in the UK Super League.
Wakefield chief executive Michael Carter handed down the penalty.
“After further discussions with the RFL and internally, we have also stood down David Fifita for the foreseeable future,” he said.
“Part of the Track and Trace protocols involve the use of GPS data. David has refused to wear one in the past, and despite being told that he must wear one, didn’t wear it against Catalans in the league game, and removed it at half time of the game last Saturday.”
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Mr Carter said he had to draw a line in the sand.
“As the person ultimately responsible for the health and wellbeing of every employee of the Club, we must err on the side of caution and remove David from the playing bubble,” he said.
Fifita is Andrew Fifita’s twin brother and a cousin of David Fifita who plays for the Brisbane Broncos.
Wakefield was thrown into turmoil after Catalans players, who are based in the south of France, tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
Wakefield tested all its players and they came back negative but two players were forced to isolate for 14 days because they had been deemed to be in close contact.
“I must stress that ALL of our players and staff were tested on Monday and all were negative. We have retested the players on Thursday and await the results,” Mr Carter said.
“Despite everything that’s been thrown at us over the last 3 weeks including late changes in fixtures, and having to stand down important members of our squad, we will be fit and ready to go on Sunday against Warrington.”