The North Queensland Cowboys have sacked major signing Ben Barba for a “significant breach” of the terms of his NRL contract without playing a single game for the club.
According to The Courier-Mail, Barba is said to have been captured on CCTV cameras at The Ville Resort-Casino attacking his partner and mother of their four daughters, Ainslie Currie, at a Townsville casino over the Australia Day weekend.
It is unclear whether police charges have been laid, however Townsville police are reportedly investigating. Channel 9’s Danny Weidler reported CCTV cameras had recorded the incident.
The club informed the NRL integrity unit of the matter on Friday before moving quickly to sack Barba later in the day.
“When a player joins the North Queensland Cowboys he agrees to abide by the terms of the contract,” Cowboys chairman Laurence Lancini said on Friday. “After an internal investigation, it has been determined that this player has acted in contradiction to both the terms and the spirit of that agreement.”
The development comes on the same day league legend Laurie Daley backed Barba to make the most of his lifeline after his Indigenous All Stars selection.
It also comes six years after Currie was forced to deny being assaulted by Barba when photos of facial injuries, believed to be hers, were published in a newspaper.
Then-Canterbury chief executive Todd Greenberg, who is now NRL boss, was heavily criticised for standing Barba down at the time but not sacking him.
The 29-year-old was meant to mark his return in the All Stars game in two weeks, however, the career of the former Dally M medallist looks dead in the water.
