Seibold handed more troll names

Former Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold has been handed more high-profile names as he continues to heap pressure on rugby league officials.

Anthony Seibold has opened up about the vicious online attacks suffered while he was Broncos coach. Picture: Annette Dew

Former Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold has been handed more high-profile names as he continues to heap pressure on rugby league officials to act against the social media trolls who made his final days in office a living hell.

Seibold appeared on 60 Minutes on Sunday night, discussing in detail the pain he and his family suffered after he was the victim of a smear campaign on social media that many believe was designed to destabilise his position at the Broncos.

The former Broncos coach hired European cybercrime experts to track down those responsible for starting and spreading the vile rumours, and it is understood those investigations are continuing.

Watch the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership Finals on Kayo. Every game before the Grand Final Live & On-Demand with no-ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

As a result, The Australian has been told that Seibold was handed more names late last week, at least one of them believed to be a well-known identity working within the game.

The names remain a closely-guarded secret as investigations continue into the online slurs. However, Seibold’s fight was back in the news on Monday after the 60 Minutes report alleged that one of the people responsible for cultivating and spreading the heinous rumours against Seibold was an employee of the NSW Rugby League.

NSWRL chief executive David Trodden was mortified at the suggestion. That was the first time he had heard of accusations against someone within his organisation and he moved quickly to clarify the situation, speaking to both Seibold and the NRL.

The NSW Rugby League released a statement late on Monday denying any of their full-time employees were involved. Trodden is expected to meet Seibold at some point in the next week to gain more clarity around the identity of the person and he has promised to take action if it is necessary.

In the interim, he said that trolling should and would not be tolerated.

“I have had the opportunity today to have a number of conversations with various representatives of the NRL and Anthony Seibold,” Trodden said.

“While the various parties are unable to provide the identity of the person involved because of ongoing police investigations, I am confident that the person is not a full-time employee of NSWRL.

“Trolling is appalling … and action should be taken if it is properly proven. It should never be tolerated and we feel for Anthony Seibold and his family for what he has been put through.

“Equally, it is really important for me, as CEO of NSWRL, to make it clear that none of our full-time employees are involved in the alleged behaviour and it’s also important that our reputation is not unfairly tarnished.”

It is understood the latest names that have been supplied to Seibold are not linked to the NSW Rugby League. Seibold, who stood down as Broncos coach in August, also took his findings to both the NSW and Queensland police. Neither has acted on the evidence that was uncovered by the European cybercrime experts, although it is understood their investigations are ongoing.

The Australian understands that Seibold has been liaising with a senior member of the NSW Police Force over the heinous attacks. He also shared the findings with the NRL integrity unit as he attempted to have action taken against those responsible for outrageous and defamatory slurs.

The NRL has denied it is an issue for them as it currently stands. They say that the matter was referred to the NSW Police and they are respecting the confidentiality of the investigation. As such, they argue, it is currently not an NRL matter.

The matter has been simmering for weeks but it boiled over again on Sunday night when Seibold spoke out against trolling as he appeared on 60 Minutes and detailed the impact of the slurs on he and his family.

“It’s been pretty tough, particularly the last couple of months,” Seibold told 60 Minutes.
“In some ways it’s like the wild west out there. My situation went viral with defamatory comments. My reputation was ruined in a lot of respects.

“The very last message upset me the most because it spoke about my daughter. For my mum and dad too it was hard for them to see those messages.

“I don’t know what the motivation was for those messages.

“It’s vicious. As I said, there’s no accountability in and around social media platforms.”