NRL and Queensland’s top police officer break silence after ‘high profile football star’ accused of rape

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has described rape allegations made against a Queensland-based player as “very serious” and confirmed the league is working with a club on an investigation.

The player, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has not yet been charged but was the subject of a formal complaint made to Queensland Police on Tuesday by a woman.

“The Queensland Police Service is investigating a complaint of sexual assault relating to an incident on the Gold Coast on Tuesday 14 May 2024. Investigations into this matter are ongoing,” Queensland Police said in a statement to the Daily Mail Australia Thursday morning.

“These are obviously very serious allegations,” Abdo said.

“We are working with the relevant parties to find out more and, obviously, as we know more, we will be able to say more.” But at this point, all I can say is that it’s very disappointing to hear about these allegations.

NRL player, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has not been charged

“They are very serious. We have policies in place to address these (problems) if they arise. We will address the facts once we know a little more.

If charged, the player would be subject to the league’s no-fault suspension policy, which suspends any player accused of an offense punishable by a prison sentence of at least 11 years.

Under Queensland law, accused sex offenders cannot be named publicly until they have been charged, so the NRL is unlikely to suspend the player until then, risking the publicly identify.

“I can’t really comment until we know all the facts,” Abdo said.

“Once we know all the facts, we will be able to make decisions based on our policies and, of course, in compliance with current legislation.”

The accusations came days before the NRL’s flagship Magic Round event, which will be held in Brisbane this weekend.

“We will continue to move forward,” Abdo said.

“We have strong policies in place, we have zero tolerance for any form of violence against anyone, so we will wait and see what the facts are and then be able to say more in due course.”

Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski (pictured) said police were investigating

Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said he was aware of the allegation.

“So obviously there is an investigation, no charges have been laid at this stage,” Mr Gollschewski said.

“I understand that these types of investigations are quite complex, so it may take some time.

“But as we always do, we will let the investigators do their job and establish the truth and the available evidence.”

“I have great confidence in our people.”