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Lote Tuqiri under fire for supporting Ben Barba after disgraced star booted from NRL

February 7, 2019
Lote Tuqiri

Dual-code Australian representative Lote Tuqiri has come under fire on social media after posting his controversial thoughts on Ben Barba's effective dismissal from rugby league.

Tuqiri took to Twitter to share his sympathy for Barba about his exiling.

"Say what you want about Ben Barba but today he’s been stripped of something he really loved doing and one of the things he’d be most passionate about," he wrote.

"I feel sad for him today! I hope he can find something that fills that void."

Barba was deregistered from the NRL yesterday after an incident involving his partner at a Townsville casino over the weekend. 

After an investigation, the NRL Integrity Unit stated there was a "physical altercation" between Barba and Ainslie Currie, the mother of his four children, leading NRL CEO Todd Greenberg to punish the 2012 Dally M Medal winner.

As such, Tuqiri's sadness has been met by plenty of hostility from fans with one person challenging if his "shallow statement" was part of a footballer's "pack mentality to protect their own".

Tuqiri tried to clear up his stance on the matter, replying to multiple people he did not condone Barba's actions but his feelings were directed at a different part of the story - of an athlete who can no longer do what he loves.

It's the latest in a string of off-field issues Australian rugby league has faced during the offseason with drunken Mad Monday antics, sex tapes and multiple sexual assault charges surfacing since the end of the 2018 season.

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