'Gut-wrenching' to be sacked, says Carney

Disgraced NRL player Todd Carney has said that it was "gut-wrenching" when he heard the news that he would be stood down from the Cronulla Sharks over the weekend.

"It’s just disappointing for something that I didn’t know was out there, something that’s surfaced like this," he told Nine News in an exclusive interview.

"And to receive the message on Saturday night, it’s just gut-wrenching, it made me feel sick straight away."

Carney was sacked by the club on Saturday night after a photograph was leaked showing the football player performing a lewd act at a public urinal.

Despite the shock of losing his multi-year contract, Carney is not without his defenders with the five-eighth receiving support from outside and within the club.

Earlier, Carney’s manager David Riolo said the photo was merely a 'setup', and was meant to be "kept between mates".

Meanwhile, Carney’s now former team-mates abandoned training in a show of support after a fiery meeting with Sharks CEO Steve Noyce.

And rugby league immortal Andrew Johns predicted that this latest incident in Carney’s long rap sheet would not spell the end of the 28-year-old’s career in the game.