A referee whose British accent was criticised by the NRL has made his third attempt at suing his former bosses over his subsequent dismissal.
The lawsuit, filed against the National Rugby League in the Federal Court earlier this month, alleges the organisation fired Tim Alouani-Roby after victimising him over union membership and over-exerting him despite illness-induced fatigue.
The now 33-year-old, who refereed in Britain's Super League and the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, was sponsored by the NRL to move to Australia.
He migrated in 2015 and became an Australian citizen in 2020.
From March 2015 to November 2020, he officiated five local seasons as a touch judge and assistant referee.
After the 2017 World Cup, he took a holiday to Vietnam where he contracted an illness that affected him physically for weeks following his return.
Unhappy with being let go in November 2020, Alouani-Roby sued the NRL, former general manager of elite officiating Bernard Sutton and head of elite football operations Graham Annesley in the Fair Work Commission.
In November 2021, FWC deputy president Bryce Cross found the NRL had not fired the referee as the end result of its victimisation against him, but had simply decided not to extend his contract after it expired.
However, Mr Cross found the NRL made "minimal" adjustments to accommodate Alouani-Roby's illness, complaining that the referee was "being soft" and that his British accent "(wasn't) helping either".
In September 2019, Sutton directed that a so-called yo-yo fitness test be conducted targeting Alouani-Roby and his ill health, Mr Cross found.
"The real reason for the yo-yo test is to make Tim Roby aware of his level of fitness within the group. I want to make him feel uncomfortable to the extent that he will retire on his own," Sutton said.
After his FWC loss, the former official took the matter to the commission's full bench, which dismissed his appeal and upheld Mr Cross' findings in September this year.
Alouani-Roby's Federal Court lawsuit now seeks to quash this latter decision and have the dispute re-heard by the FWC.
According to his LinkedIn, he is now working as a specialist coach for the Sydney Roosters and an assistant editor for Indesign Media.
