Sam Burgess has been cleared by South Sydney Rabbitohs of any wrongdoing over a 'sexting' scandal and is threatening to sue.
The NRL and the Rabbitohs launched a joint investigation after the 29-year-old dual-code international was at the centre of allegations of a lewd video chat involving some of the club's players.
Reports in Australia claimed one of Burgess' social media accounts had been used to send inappropriate images to a woman following a match in May.
In a statement on Friday, the Sydney club said the woman was seen by NRL integrity unit investigator Karyn Murphy but declined to be interviewed by the investigating panel and it concluded that no player had broken
any rules.
"Based on a thorough review of the available evidence before it, the panel was not satisfied that any South Sydney player engaged in any actionable misconduct resulting in a breach of their NRL playing
contract, the NRL rules or the SSFC code of conduct," the club said.
The Rugby League Players' Association (RLPA) issued a statement supporting the club's position and Burgess took to social media to express his innocence.
"I have not sexted anyone," the former Bath Rugby player said on his Twitter account. "I fully cooperated with the inquiry, as I said I would.
"I have engaged lawyer Chris Murphy to pursue my remedies and he has retained defamation lawyers.
"I have given a full account to the inquiry and answered every question asked. It's now in Mr Murphy's hands. The next move is up to him. I have nothing more to say at this stage."
The incident overshadowed the Rabbitohs' semi-final win over St George Illawarra last weekend and dominated the build-up to Saturday's Grand Final qualifier against Sydney Roosters.
An emotional Burgess spoke to the media this week before the Rabbitohs crunch game. He thanked his wife and family for their support and said he was "happy for the truth to come out".
Burgess, who played in the 2015 rugby union World Cup during a year-long stint with Bath, last month signed a four-year extension to his contract, which will keep him at South Sydney until the end of 2023.
