Wallaby Lote Tuqiri sacked for having woman in hotel room
The Sunday Telegraph
September 06, 2009 12:55am
FOOTBALL superstar Lote Tuqiri was sacked by the Australian Rugby Union for breaking strict team rules by having a woman in his Wallabies hotel room.
At the time, Tuqiri was on his "last warning" for previous behavioural issues.
Tuqiri's $5 million contract was torn up by ARU boss John O'Neill for taking the guest, a 20-year-old, into his room after a night out in Canberra in the week leading up to a Test.
He met the girl, a university student and the daughter of a respected Canberra family, at a nightclub in Canberra before the pair returned to the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
The Wallabies were staying at the hotel in the second week of June to prepare for a Test match against Italy.
Team management was made aware of Tuqiri's breach of rules the next day. Tuqiri was not picked in the side for the Test and is believed to have returned home to Sydney before the game.
The former rugby league star was sharing a room with team-mate Richard Brown, who was questioned by an ARU disciplinary panel about the evening.
He was reluctant to co-operate because he did not want to dob in a mate. There is no suggestion Brown had anything to do with the woman being in the room.
When approached by The Sunday Telegraph yesterday, Tuqiri refused to offer any comment, other than saying: "I've signed a confidentiality thing. I'm not into legal stuff but I can't say anything."
An ARU spokesman said much the same: "We are not at liberty to discuss the Lote Tuqiri termination issue. As Lote wrote in his Sunday Telegraph column last week, a confidentiality clause exists as part of the settlement."
Tuqiri's shock sacking baffled fans. It is extremely rare for a player in any football code to have a contract torn up in such a public way without explanation.
As a result, rumours swept through rugby union and rugby league circles regarding the circumstances of his dismissal.
In the early stages, ARU boss John O'Neill publicly stated Tuqiri, a father of two, was free to disclose why he was dismissed.
Tuqiri maintained a stony silence. NRL boss David Gallop increased the public pressure on Tuqiri to reveal why he was sacked, telling the player he could not return to league unless he talked about what occurred.
During a painstaking investigation, The Sunday Telegraph discovered O'Neill chose not to go public with details of the incident - despite being accused of a cover-up - out of his respect for the woman and her family.
Even most of O'Neill's senior staff at the ARU have been kept in the dark because of his concerns over the woman being identified and embarrassed.
Tuqiri launched legal action against the ARU for wrongful dismissal. The case was settled out of court for a significant sum after both parties argued at the initial hearing for details to be suppressed from the media.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26030801-1242,00.html
