http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...apology-deadline/story-e6frg7mf-1226093420260
http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&s...-6jcBw&usg=AFQjCNGorySewnwbU3lJNaMHFGsT5XsBLg
Mal Meninga issued an apology deadline
MAL Meninga has been given 48 hours to publicly apologise to the match review committee for his "rats and filth" comments or face the prospect of being sued for defamation.
Sydney law firm Kennedys made the demand on behalf of the NRL in correspondence sent to both the Queensland coach and Queensland's The Sunday Mail yesterday.
"The match review committee is continuing to work with legal advisers to seek some resolution and this is being done through the appropriate channels," NRL football operations manager Nathan McGuirk said.
"There is no wish to further inflame the situation but there is a strong view that the statements are defamatory and they should not remain unchallenged.
"It is everyone's hope that the matter can be resolved without further action."
The move followed Meninga's venomous column in The Sunday Mail in which he took a swipe at the NSWRL, the NSW media, the match review committee and the judiciary after the Maroons won a record sixth consecutive State of Origin series.
While most parties connected to the Blues have been happy to let the comments slide, the match review committee of chairman Greg McCallum, Meninga's former Canberra teammate Bradley Clyde and former North Sydney coach Peter Louis want a promise of a public apology within 48 hours. The details of that still have to be hammered out by legal parties but it is believed any apology would have to be prominent enough to garner the same sort of attention Meninga's column attracted.
Meninga's description of the Maroons' effort as a "victory against the very rats and filth that tried to poison a team with monumental lies, personal attack, arrogance and disrespect" are the centre of most offence.
They are comments that have probably cost him friendships with Clyde and NSW coach Ricky Stuart, with whom he won premierships at the Raiders.
Meninga was upset at the match review committee for citing Queensland halfback Johnathan Thurston for running into a referee and for what he says were inconsistencies in dangerous throw charges against Maroons backrower Dave Taylor and NSW winger Akuila Uate.
Taylor received a five-week suspension for a grade two charge after being found guilty of the offence, while Uate escaped suspension after taking an early plea.
The Sunday Mail editor Scott Thompson said they would take legal advice on the matter today before determining their next course of action.
"We're standing by Mal and we're standing by the column," Thompson said. "They've engaged lawyers so obviously we'll seek our own legal advice."
Meninga and Queensland captain Darren Lockyer are scheduled today to attend a charity lunch in Brisbane for children with autism.
QRL managing director Ross Livermore spoke to Meninga yesterday for the first time since the Maroons wrapped up a sixth straight series last week.
"He was good," Livermore said.
"I usually leave it to the middle of the next week (after Origin) before I trouble him again."
The QRL boss added he did not believe Meninga had to say sorry for his comments.
"I don't think he should apologise," Livermore said.
"He might have to apologise for some of the terms that were used, but were they his terms? That's what you've got to check.
"Do you think The Sunday Mail wouldn't have had it checked out before they published it?"
Meninga faces no recriminations from his employer for his comments. The QRL board has already endorsed his candidature for another four years.
