FORMER Super League referee Robert Hicks has left the RFL as Director of Legal and Operations, League Express understands.
Hicks was suspended back in September, with the governing body confirming that an investigation under its public interest disclosure policy had been launched.
Now, after being contacted by League Express, the RFL said: “The RFL and Robert Hicks have mutually agreed his departure from the RFL to enable him to pursue new opportunities away from the governing body.”
Hicks refereed more than 500 matches, including ties at three World Cups, two World Club Challenges, two Grand Finals and two Challenge Cup finals.
A qualified lawyer, he has worked in private practice, and joined the RFL’s legal and operations department in 2011.
He was responsible for the drafting of the sport’s first set of operational rules for tiers four to six as well as being the lead legal person on the 2013 World Cup.
More recently, he played a leading role in the implementation of new rules and the ongoing legal case relating to former players taking action against the game over brain injuries.
