Barnett, Peachey referred to conciliation process with racial abuse claim 'undetermined'

The NRL could not determine a claim of racial abuse by Newcastle forward Mitch Barnett against Titans player Tyrone Peachey, a league statement said on Tuesday.

A review was undertaken after Peachey made a complaint against Barnett in last Friday's Gold Coast vs Newcastle clash, per the game's anti-vilification code.

Peachey, an Indigenous man, alleged that Barnett called him a "black c---". Barnett reportedly admitted to using the expletive but denied a racial slur.

The NRL said in its statement that it had "received statements from the players involved in the matter, players from both teams in the vicinity of the incident, match officials, club officials, and reviewed footage and audio from the broadcast and internal comms records". Still, the NRL found that adequate evidence could not be established and "the facts remain contested by each player".

"Rugby league is an inclusive game and we take our duty of care to all of our players very seriously. It is important that every player feels supported when they make a complaint and we want to see our players take a leadership role in speaking out," NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said.

"It is also important that where there is a dispute as to what has been said, the game has a process designed to bring the parties together to address those matters in an appropriate way.

"My priority right now is monitoring the welfare of both players. I'm hopeful a conciliation meeting will find a resolution that benefits both players."