A senior rugby league official could be banned from the game and stripped of his board position after sharing a controversial social media post that linked an NRL club to the late Iranian leader Ali Khamenei.
Western Suburbs Magpies director and former hooker Alan Fallah is facing disciplinary action after posting a doctored image on Facebook that quickly sparked outrage within the rugby league community.
The former Magpies star was infamously so quiet in his playing days that the late Wests cult hero John ‘Dallas’ Donnelly nicknamed him ‘Noisy’.
And Fallah has been living up to that nickname, with a shocking post connecting Khamenei to the Bulldogs after the ayatollah was killed by Israeli air strikes on February 28.
The post featured an altered Canterbury Bulldogs injury list that had been changed to include a photo of Khamenei alongside a fictional injury entry.
The graphic claimed the Iranian leader was ‘out injured indefinitely’ after suffering a ‘Burton bomb’, a reference to Bulldogs halfback Matt Burton’s towering attacking kicks.
Western Suburbs Magpies director and former hooker Alan Fallah has been issued a breach notice by the NSWRL for a social media post
The post featured late Iranian leader Ali Khamenei in a mock injury list for the Bulldogs NRL team (pictured)
Fallah was ironically nicknamed ‘Noisy’ in his playing days because he was such a quiet character in the sheds. His Facebook bio (pictured) includes the phrase ‘racism is wrong’
Fallah also added the caption: ‘The Dogs have a few injury concerns.’
The image quickly circulated online and prompted an investigation by the NSW Rugby League, which has since issued Fallah with a code of conduct breach notice for allegedly bringing the game into disrepute.
Under the breach notice, Fallah must enter a plea by 5pm on Friday, after which the matter will be referred to a code of conduct judiciary panel that will determine whether sanctions should be imposed.
If the panel finds him guilty, the punishment could be severe.
Fallah could be suspended indefinitely from rugby league involvement, a penalty that would effectively remove him from the Western Suburbs Magpies board and prohibit him from attending matches or holding any official roles within the game.
The potential ban would mark a dramatic fall for the former Magpies player, who is a club great as a player and administrator.
Khamenei’s death has been one of the defining geopolitical events of 2026 and has triggered intense reactions across the Middle East and among diaspora communities around the world.
NSWRL officials acted swiftly once the post surfaced publicly.
Fallah now faces heavy sanctions for his post and will have to fight a breach notice that states he brought the game into disrepute
Fallah faces a lengthy ban from attending any matches or official functions because of the post
The death of Khamenei made headlines across the world after he was targeted by an air strike on February 28
The governing body issued a breach notice alleging Fallah had brought the game into disrepute, a charge that carries serious consequences under rugby league’s code of conduct.
If the judiciary panel upholds the charge, Fallah could be banned from attending games, holding official positions or participating in rugby league activities.
The disciplinary case is the latest controversy to hit the Western Suburbs and Wests Tigers system, which has already been dealing with a turbulent period of governance issues.
Late in 2025, the Holman Barnes Group, which is the majority owner of the Wests Tigers, sensationally removed four independent directors from the club’s board.
Those dismissed included former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell, as well as Annabelle Williams, Charlie Viola and Michelle McDowell.
The move stunned many observers given the directors had only been appointed earlier in the year.
The decision handed Holman Barnes effective control of the Wests Tigers and reignited long-running tensions between the club’s two foundation factions.
