NRL star Api Koroisau banned from Grand Final parade for failing to get a Covid vaccine

The NRL star whose involvement in a sex scandal almost cost him his career will miss the Grand Final parade after failing to get vaccinated in time. 

Api Koroisau, 28, was found to have snuck a woman he met online into his hotel room during State of Origin camp in June. 

The Penrith Panthers hooker was hit with $50,000 worth of fines and handed a two-match ban from the NRL and NSW Rugby League for breaching the Covid player bubble and putting the entire season at risk. 

While the father-of-two has seemingly made amends with his wife and the Panthers, he will almost definitely miss out on celebrating the club’s premiership win. 

It is understood while Koroisau plans to get vaccinated time constraints will mean he can’t attend the parade scheduled for November 20, the Daily Telegraph reports.  

The Penrith Panthers hooker (pictured) was found to have snuck a woman he met online into his hotel room during State of Origin camp in June 

The celebrations will allow players to celebrate with their fans on home soil after the grand final was moved to southeast Queensland due to Covid-19 concerns. 

The hesitancy of some high profile players to get the jab – notably Melbourne’s Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Manly’s Dylan Walker – has prompted the NRL to discuss creating clear-cut rules with the players union over vaccinations.

It comes after the NRL last week issued a directive that stated clubs could make their own decisions when it came to players who refused to roll up their sleeves.

The NRL has encouraged clubs to seek their own legal advice when it came to contractual concerns of unvaccinated players. 

Stars that refuse the jab will be subject to a lengthy list of strict new rules, where their training, ability to travel, and daily lives will be severely restricted. 

The woman who accused Koroisau of breaching quarantine said she met the star dummy half on Instagram in early June, and their communication quickly moved to Snapchat

The player (pictured with his wife Amy and two young daughters) has since broken his silence in the wake of the sex scandal and revealed he suffered ‘guilt’ and shame 

Koroisau (pictured with his wife Amy) was fined $50,000 and suspended for two games – a punishment fans and critics alike later labelled as ‘weak’

It comes just a month after scandal-plagued Koroisau broke his silence on the sex scandal that nearly blew up his career and said he suffered ‘guilt’ and shame. 

‘I’ve learnt a lot about myself through this season and I’ve had to learn a fair bit about me as a person,’ Koroisau told the Courier Mail at the end of September. 

‘It’s one of those things where I will keep working on myself every day, wanting to be a better person. It’s important that I keep growing.

‘It’s one of those individual battles I have to face and I want to come out the other end.’ 

The woman at the centre of the controversy was never contacted by NRL officials to provide a statement about sneaking into State of Origin camp and breaching biosecurity protocols on two occasions.

‘It’s one of those individual battles I have to face and I want to come out the other end’ Koroisau said of the scandal that put the entire NRL season at risk

Koroisau’s wife Amy (pictured) was shattered when she heard of the allegations but has remained by his side in the wake of the sex scandal describing him as a ‘great dad’

She said she was charmed by Koroisau and quickly developed feelings for him before he suddenly deleted his Snapchat account and told her not to contact him on Instagram in case his wife saw the messages. 

The woman claims she was smuggled into the Blues hotel on June 20 in Homebush and on June 27 – the day of State of Origin 2 – in Brisbane, with a third time planned. 

She says the punishment handed down to the hooker was not severe enough given he breached the game’s Covid bubble and proceeded to cover it up for three weeks. 

Koroisau also watched opposition player Jai Arrow get stood down over an almost identical offence, with fans and critics alike labelling it as ‘weak’. 

The woman eventually admitted the affair to Koroisau’s wife Amy, who was shattered when she heard of the allegations but has remained by his side. 

The mother-of-two issued a statement at the time which said: ‘Api is a great dad and although this has hurt me immensely I have no doubt he will put the necessary strategies in place to learn from this and better who he is.’