Club felt it had no choice after two incidents earlier in the season.
Todd Carney was sacked by the Cronulla Sharks on Sunday evening not because of a one-off incident with the five-eighth already having two strikes against his name this season.
The final star for the Sharks came in the form of a lewd photo which showed Carney urinating into his own mouth in the toilet of Northies Nightclub in Cronulla.
The photo, taken by a fellow patron not a teammate as had been suspected by NRL fans, was taken two weeks ago after the Sharks were thrashed by the Manly Sea Eagles.
Carney has been hauled before the Cronulla board twice already this season due to alcohol-related incidents.
One saw Carney with a man during which he was assaulted two teenagers in Cronulla Mall and was later charged for the act.
It has also been revealed the reason why the Sharks chased Benji Marshall so hard was that they believed Carney would not see out the rest of his deal.
Cronulla chairman Damian Keogh said there were only so many black eyes the club could take before they took action.
“We’re trying to improve the club commercially and the culture is very important,” Keogh said.
“We’ve made a decision to only sign players in future who can contribute to that.
“Unfortunately Toddy can be a really lovely young bloke but he has well-documented issues with alcohol that have led to a number of problems.”
Head of the NRL integrity unit Jim Doyle said it was a shame the incident tainted the entire competition, adding many players are upstanding members of their communities.
“The overwhelming majority of NRL players are great role models who do such good work on and off the field,” Doyle said.
“But those who want to bring the game into disrepute are on notice that their behaviour will not be tolerated and the Sharks should be commended for taking such a strong stand in this instance.”
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