El-Masri claims ‘abhorrent’

Former rugby league star Hazem El-Masri has been dumped from all NRL ambassadorial roles, with outgoing chief executive Dave Smith describing the domestic violence allegations against him as ‘‘abhorrent’’.

El Masri, the game’s White Ribbon ambassador against domestic violence, had been charged with assaulting his wife in their Bankstown home on Monday night. league might not have been able to achieve.’’

However, Doyle believed the NRL had evolved as a business to the point where the next appointment should be someone with a more intimate knowledge of the game.

‘‘At the end of the day you’ve got to think about your customers and stakeholders,’’ Doyle said.

‘‘The majority of the stakeholders are your 16 clubs and two states. I’ve been involved in the game a long, long time and the majority of the stakeholders outside of that are fans and members and people you want to

An interim AVO has been granted for his 25-year-old wife, Douah El-Cherif, and the former Bulldogs player will appear before Bankstown Local Court tomorrow.

The reaction to the El-Masri allegations was swift, with Smith saying he would be dropped as an NRL ambassador.

‘‘There is absolutely no place for domestic violence in our game,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s abhorrent to us.’’ attract into the game. You need to have an understanding of the game to be able to do that.’’

Doyle described Smith’s departure as ‘‘disappointing’’ but understood the stresses of the role made it difficult to retain someone for more than a short period.

‘‘It’s a shame he’s decided to go but it’s a tough job and you can only last a certain amount of time, it’s 24 hours of the day for 365 days a year,’’ he said.

Asked if he was interested in Smith’s job, Doyle said: ‘‘I’ve got a challenge over here with the Warriors, so that keeps me busy.’’