A former rugby league referee criticised for his accent and physical health before being dismissed has failed for the third time in suing the NRL.
Tim Alouani-Roby alleges that he was fired in November 2020 after being victimised for his union membership and over-exerted despite illness-induced fatigue.
In his Federal Court lawsuit, the 34-year-old sought to overturn a decision by the Fair Work Commission, upheld by the FWC's Full Bench, that he was not dismissed but rather his contract was not extended.
This finding, which was again upheld by the Federal Court on Thursday, deprives Alouani-Roby of the chance to pursue the NRL for damages over alleged adverse action.
His legal action targeted the NRL as well as former general manager of elite officiating Bernard Sutton and head of elite football operations Graham Annesley.
In dismissing his Federal Court lawsuit, Justice Elizabeth Raper said the FWC's Full Bench did not make any jurisdictional errors.
"The Full Bench asked the right question and did not misapply itself in the inquiry it undertook to determine the answer," she wrote in her judgment.
Alouani-Roby, who refereed in Britain's Super League and the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, was sponsored by the NRL to move to Australia.
He migrated in 2015 and became an Australian citizen in 2020.
From March 2015 to November 2020, he officiated five local seasons as a touch judge and assistant referee.
After the 2017 World Cup, he took a holiday to Vietnam where he contracted an illness that affected him physically for weeks following his return.
In November 2021, FWC deputy president Bryce Cross found that the referee was not dismissed as a result of the victimisation but rather had not had his contract extended after it expired.
Mr Cross found the NRL made "minimal" adjustments to accommodate Alouani-Roby's illness, complaining that the referee was "being soft" and that his British accent "(wasn't) helping either".
In September 2019, Sutton directed that a so-called yo-yo fitness test be conducted targeting Alouani-Roby and his ill health, Mr Cross found.
"The real reason for the yo-yo test is to make Tim Roby aware of his level of fitness within the group. I want to make him feel uncomfortable to the extent that he will retire on his own," Sutton said.
