Barba 'will not return' to NRL if guilty of domestic assault

Ben Barba will be rubbed out of the NRL and "will not return" under Todd Greenberg's watch if CCTV footage proves allegations he physically assaulted his partner at a Townsville casino on Australia Day.

Barba had his contract with North Queensland terminated on Friday night with the NRL Integrity Unit expected to obtain the vision in the next 24-48 hours, with a decision to be made on any future NRL registration for Barba in a similar timeframe.

Barba is under investigation by Townsville police regarding the alleged assault of his long-time partner, which was witnessed by several casino patrons as well as being caught on camera.

Greenberg reiterated his warning to players over off-field behaviour after a "train wreck" of an off-season, declaring there is no place in the game for any player found guilty of domestic violence.

"I haven't seen the footage as yet, but if it shows violence towards a woman then really there is no debate. Ben Barba will be out of the NRL immediately and I can't see him ever returning," Greenberg said on Saturday.

"If the evidence is there, he won't return under my watch.

"I issue this warning to players again. The game has changed, and community expectations are clear. We won't tolerate misbehaviour and the sanctions will be extremely strong, especially for violence against women."

ARL Commission chairman Peter Beattie also weighed in on Twitter on Sunday.

Barba's latest NRL comeback did not see him lace a boot for the Cowboys, with his sacking coming after he was approved to return from a Super League stint following a 12-game NRL ban for illicit drug use.

Should the 29-year-old be banned indefinitely by the governing body, Greenberg said he expects the Super League to "like they have on previous occasions, be aligned with us" and observe a deregistration, but the NRL CEO will not request the same stance of Barba's other potential career path, rugby union.

Barba had been the subject of a previous NRL investigation into domestic violence allegations against his partner in 2013, which came after his starring role in Canterbury's run to the previous year's grand final.

The 2012 Dally M Medallist was not charged on that occasion, with Greenberg – who was Bulldogs CEO during that period before joining the NRL – also cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent investigation.

Despite Barba's most recent incident and previous indiscretions, Greenberg maintained he held no regrets over the handling of the matter.

"At the time I could only do what I had I front of me, so what I did was the right thing at the time," Greenberg said of the 2013 investigation, in which Barba's partner denied allegations of abuse and declined to be interviewed by NRL officials.

If the evidence is there, he won't return under my watch.

Todd Greenberg

"You can only deal with information that's presented to you as evidence. You can't deal with supposition.

"You can't act without evidence... You can't act on assumptions and innuendo and in our position, that's exactly what we do.

"[The investigation] was done completely independently".

Greenberg applauded the Cowboys for their "decisive" action in sacking Barba, and vowed to make contact and provide support for the disgraced star's partner and young family.

Rugby League Players’ Association CEO Ian Prendergast released a statement on Saturday afternoon to say the union would offer Barba and his family "every support we can".

“To be clear – the support offered to Ben would focus on helping him properly address any issues that may be causing what is alleged to have occurred," he said.

"Ben returned to the game well aware that any behavioural issues would result in his deregistration and it appears his professional career in the NRL is now over.

“We fully support this decision if the allegations are correct and the strong stance the game is taking regarding violence against women. 

“Each case must be dealt with on its merits. However, any conduct relating to violence against women is unacceptable, not only in rugby league, but in society as a whole. 

“Our members understand that they owe it to the game to be better than many of the incidents we have seen over the past few months."

Prendergast said the collective group of NRL players was frustrated that their reputation was being "tarnished by the acts of a small percentage of their peers and that these issues have put the game under huge pressure".