Tuesday 8 November 2016 07:42, UK
Ben Barba has been released by Australia's National Rugby League champions Cronulla Sharks after testing positive for cocaine and has headed overseas to check into a rehab facility.
The 27-year-old, who won the 2012 Dally M medal as the league's most valuable player, was tested days after playing in the Sharks' Grand Final win over Melbourne Storm which gave the Sydney side its first NRL title.
"This is an incredibly difficult situation for Ben, his family and our club and all involved with it," Sharks CEO Lyall Gorman said in a statement.
"While Ben will be a major loss to our football club, the far greater priority is for him to focus on his long-term future away from football and we will continue to support Ben throughout that process in any way we can."
Should Barba seek to resume his NRL career, he will need to serve out a mandatory 12-week suspension, having breached the competition's illicit drug policy twice.
Barba returned a positive test for a non-performance enhancing drug last year, the NRL said.
"I know and accept I need to take some time away from the game to deal with some personal issues," Barba said in a statement.
"As footballers we often find it hard to speak up about having problems, but this decision has lifted so much pressure off myself that I cannot start to explain just how much better I feel by taking this action."
Barba has previously spent time in rehab for gambling and alcohol problems and was stood down by his former club Canterbury for a number of matches in 2013.
However, Barba had declared himself in a "good head space" and expressing remorse that his off-field issues had taken a toll on his family shortly before the latest misstep.
