Source : ABC NEWS
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs is allowing a promising young player in its ranks to continue playing despite his brother being benched over concerns for his safety due to familial links to Sydney’s Alameddine crime family.
Bulldogs five-eighth Zain Alameddine ran out in the blue and white on Saturday in the Ron Massey Cup despite his brother, Parramatta Eels young gun Mohamed, being sidelined as a result of the city’s escalating gang war.
The ABC can reveal the Bulldogs have been in extensive contact with the NRL Integrity Unit over Zain Alameddine’s personal safety and ability to play.
The club has taken a series of measures to protect his safety, including providing security, who liaise directly with police at games he plays in.
The promising Bulldogs number seven only recently moved from Parramatta Eels himself. (Supplied)
The NRL’s Integrity Unit has been working with NSW Police and providing advice to the Bulldogs on the matter, and has also done so for Parramatta.
The ABC understands that there is no immediate threat to Zain’s safety and, as a result, Canterbury-Bankstown has opted to continue playing him, unlike Parramatta.
The Ron Massey Cup is the third-tier competition of semi-professional rugby league in New South Wales, while the NSW Cup is the highest level of competition and is one grade below the NRL, the professional competition.
Zain Alameddine has played predominantly in the Ron Massey Cup after playing earlier this year in the junior rugby league tournament, the SG Ball Cup.
Both Zain and Mohamed Alameddine are not accused of any wrongdoing, any involvement in organised crime, or the crime family bearing their last name.
Mohamed Alameddine is a development player for the Parramatta Eels.
The Alameddines operate a crime network out of Sydney’s western suburbs, but its senior figures remain in hiding in Lebanon after fleeing the country in 2023.
Police believe a series of shootings and arson attacks over the past six months are linked to its feud with the self-proclaimed “Coconut Cartel”, which takes its name from a historic slur against Pasifika people.
The decisions by the Bulldogs and the Eels come after a series of attacks between the two gangs spilling into public life.
One involved a foiled plot to kill an alleged member of the Alameddines at a suburban rugby league match in April.
The intended target, Ali Younes, was watching a game at Ringrose Park next to the Wenty Leagues Club when his alleged would-be assassins were spotted nearby and fled.
The ABC understands he was watching another Alameddine family member play.
Police intercepted that car and arrested three men at Homebush after pinning it along the M4 motorway, seizing a long-arm rifle and a pistol.
Three men were arrested and firearms seized after a car fled a suburban footy ground in April. (ABC News)
Police said during their pursuit of the car the three men inside allegedly threw jerry cans and bleach out of the window.
The car, police said, had been linked to a number of shootings before the Wentworthville plot.
Another incident in June saw a relative of the Alameddines and a young girl escape unharmed after a hitman’s gun jammed in an attempted gangland assassination during a school pick-up in Fairfield.
New South Wales Rugby League has also been monitoring the situation and is in regular communication with both clubs; ultimately, decisions on who to select for the club remain with the club in both instances.
Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs did not respond to requests for comment, including why they have taken a different decision to Parramatta.
The ABC understands the club has worked closely to ensure Zain Alameddine can play safely and pursue his sporting dream.
The NRL, Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs and the NSWRL have all been contacted for comment.
