Josh Addo-Carr faces two-hour grilling as footy bosses ask under-fire winger what exactly happened following positive cocaine tests
- Josh Addo-Carr attended a meeting with NRL bosses on Thursday
- The Canterbury winger was questioned for two hours following his positive drugs test
- Addo-Carr has accepted a police fine but maintains his innocence
Josh Addo-Carr came under fire on Thursday afternoon when the under-fire Canterbury star was questioned for two hours about his positive cocaine test.
Addo-Carr was on hand at Rugby League Central to explain the circumstances that led to a positive cocaine test following a roadside drugs test earlier this month.
The Premier League forward has maintained his innocence following the incident but accepted a $682 fine and a three-month driving ban.
He says he took the fine and driving ban to protect his family and club from negative public attention.
The Bulldogs winger attended the meeting with his manager Mario Tartak and lawyer Nick Ghabar, a regular at Rugby League Central due to his reputation as the go-to advocate for players.
βHe claims he didn’t take anything,β Ghabar told the Sydney Morning Herald after the meeting.
According to the SMH, Addo-Carr told the NRL he had not received a police file with a serial number for his first test. He was sent the file a week later.
Josh Addo-Carr was questioned for two hours by NRL officials on Thursday afternoon
The winger’s future at Canterbury is in jeopardy after Phil Gould’s comments this week
Addo-Carr also claims there is speculation as to whether his initial test was ‘decisive’. However, his decision to accept the police punishment puts an end to the case from a criminal perspective.
The NRL is expected to impose sanctions on the NSW Blues star, who withdrew after the finals defeat to Manly, leaving his future at Canterbury uncertain.
Club chief executive Phil Gould said the player’s version of events contained “too many inconsistencies”. However, he said he would wait for the outcome of the NRL investigation before deciding on next steps.
βWe ultimately have a positive drug test showing that there were drugs in his system last Friday night,β Gould said on his podcast Six Tackles with Gus.
‘I believe he still maintains his innocence. But on [some stage] He will have to explain to himself and to the people who matter how exactly it happened and why it happened.
“And why we’ve been through what we’ve been through in the last week or so. It was definitely bad timing.”