LEIGH owner Derek Beaumont has issued a statement in response to allegations of physical abuse levelled at star import Tesi Niu.
At the start of the week posts on the Tongan international’s Instagram account which were purportedly posted by his partner, Kiani Smith, were widely reported in the rugby league media.
Alongside photos showing bruises was a series of allegations against the utility back, with Smith saying she was “broken”.
Beaumont in his statement tonight did not mention any action yet taken against Niu, adding: “There is no official complaint to the club regarding the player nor to any relevant authorities.”
Rather than say there would be no further comment at this time, Beaumont said there would be “no further statements” at all.
The person posting on Niu’s account identified herself as “Kiani” but Beaumont calls her “Kiana” in the release.
The rest of the statement reads (with slight corrections for punctuation): “The club can confirm that the player’s account was accessed externally and without his knowledge or consent and deleted a short period thereafter.
“We were instantly aware of this as it happened. As a club we have policies and procedures and employ a Player Welfare Manager who is a qualified counsellor.
“Our first port of call in these circumstances is to ensure the welfare of our player and any external party that may be involved. This was immediately initiated.
“Having since personally spoken with Tesi and Kiana (sic) individually and at length and then our Player Welfare Manager and Head Coach, I am completely satisfied that they are both being fully supported.
“I can also confirm that there is no official complaint to the club regarding the player nor to any relevant authorities. To that end the club will make no further statements about the matter and would welcome supporters’ trust in the club’s processes and findings.”
Unlike in the NRL, there is no Integrity Unit in the British rugby league to co-ordinate the response to off-field incidents