NRL: No league future for ex-Cronulla boss - Gallop

SYDNEY - NRL chief executive David Gallop says it would be difficult for embattled Cronulla boss Tony Zappia to stay in the sport.

Zappia was stood down as Sharks chief executive on Monday following the broadcast of recorded conversations allegedly between him and former employee Jenny Hall.

A Seven Network report on Sunday claimed Hall covertly taped a meeting with Zappia following an incident in August last year which left the then-Sharks community liaison officer with a black eye.

In the report Zappia is claimed to have asked Hall if she wanted to spank him as punishment and then allegedly showed her offensive images from an email during their discussion.

Gallop said if the tape is genuine, it would be difficult to imagine a future in the sport for Zappia.

"On the face of it, we've got a situation where the CEO of a company is involved in giving an employee a black eye, albeit accidentally," he said.

"The response to that ... to deny her sick leave and suggest she may want to spank him is totally unacceptable.

"The Cronulla board have allowed a couple of days for a process to take place but they need to step up to the plate in relation to this issue."

When asked if he wanted Zappia to continue to be involved in the NRL, Gallop said: "On the face of it, it seems to me that would be very difficult."

Last month the NRL asked the club to explain the injury, saying it would not take the matter any further unless it received new evidence.

Gallop, speaking at an NRL luncheon to celebrate the role of women in the game, denied he felt like he had been lied to by the club's board but urged them to make a swift decision on Zappia's future.

"We don't run football clubs, that's not our role, but certainly we've been involved in discussions and I think I've made myself plain about it over the past couple of days," he said.

"We're not the decision maker in this, this is an issue for the club to get on top of and I'm suggesting that they need to do that quickly.

"I can't see any alternative but to treat the matter seriously and to take the strictest action available to them."

Gallop said the NRL hasn't scheduled a meeting to speak with Hall but was hoping to if she was willing.

"The offer to speak to Jenny Hall has been in place for a number of weeks," Gallop said, before adding he expected to listen to an unedited tape of the alleged conversation shortly.

- AAP