Notorious footy bad boy cops ANOTHER ban after abusing an official at his old club

Notorious NRL bad boy John Hopoate has reportedly been banned for life from functions at Wests Tigers after abusing a senior footy official at a function last week.

Hopoate, 50, is perhaps unfortunately better known for a spate of shocking on-field and off-field incidents than he is for the football he played during a successful 200-game career.

The hulking footballer infamously stuck his finger into the bottom of three of his opponents during a game in 2001 – in a incident which made global news for all the wrong reasons.

For that incident he was suspended for 12 games, while throughout his career he was rubbed out for 47 games – an unwanted NRL record.

No stranger to controversy since his career ended, Wide World of Sports now reports that Hopoate ‘abused and threatened’ NSWRL chief executive Dave Trodden at the Tigers’ gala 25-year dinner.

The article states that the abuse from Hopoate was so bad that Trodden and his family had to leave the function with officials escorting him to his car.

‘It was disgraceful and he’s not welcome at Tigers functions in the future,’ Tigers boss Shane Richardson told Wide World of Sports.

Hopoate’s fury reportedly stems from a decision by NSWRL to prevent him from coaching junior rugby league.

Hopoate reportedly ‘abused and threatened’ NSWRL chief executive Dave Trodden

A person who witnessed the incident told WWOS: ‘It was horrible to watch and all everyone could talk about afterwards.’

The Tigers club has reportedly apologised to Trodden for the ugly incident.

The notorious former NRL star has worked in a variety of roles since retiring in 2005.

He initially tried his hand at professional boxing before taking up a role as a bouncer at a Kings Cross pub in 2010.

However later that year he was involved in a brawl that saw a patron killed.

Hopoate turned to boxing after his footy career was over

Hopoate eventually returned to Manly – the club where he played 181 NRL games – as a part-time coach.

As his family continued to grow he has competed in several more boxing events, with bouts against fellow former NRL star Paul Gallen and former world champ Lucas Browne.