Cronulla captain Paul Gallen has been handed a $50,000 fine and provisional Kangaroos suspension for a foul-mouthed tirade he made against NRL officials on social media last week.
Gallen has seven days to respond to the breach notice and explain any mitigating factors that might have contributed to his Twitter brain-snap while holidaying in Hawaii.
The NRL imposed the heaviest possible code of conduct fine on the Sharks and NSW captain, and he will also be ineligible for Australia selection in 2015 unless he successfully completes a leadership course.
His eligibility would then be reviewed by an ARL commission panel.
Earlier on Monday, Gallen said he supports people with depression and encourages them to talk about it, but doesn’t want to go public about his reported battle with the illness.
Gallen has endured a difficult few months.
In addition to his Twitter outburst, he is currently serving an Asada ban following an investigation into Cronulla’s supplement program.
News Corp on Monday reported Gallen was suffering from depression.
Gallen wasn’t keen to talk about the issue when he fronted the media to publicise a boxing promotion he will participate in on December 3.
“It’s an issue that’s hard for me to talk about at the moment,” Gallen said.
“It’s something that I support, the people that come out and talk about it and encourage them to talk about it.”
Gallen said he has tried to ring NRL boss David Smith following the revelation about his tweet.
The Sharks captain wasn’t keen to talk rugby league and preferred to focus on his second professional boxing bout against his former Sharks teammate Anthony Watts at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion.
