THE father of a former Canberra lower-grader, whose eviction from a Goulburn club on Saturday night has again threatened Todd Carney's future, has dismissed the latest allegations against the wayward halfback as a "load of crap".
Chris Anthony was celebrating his 50th birthday with a group of people including Carney when his son, Mitch, was involved in a fight on Saturday night at the Goulburn Workers Club - just hours after an impassioned plea by Carney to be spared the axe over previous misdemeanours.
"I'm sick of people flinging mud at the kid that's just not true," Chris Anthony said. "It's a load of crap what's been reported. He had a couple of beers, that's all. He wasn't drunk, he's not that stupid.
"Give him some credit. The kid's no angel and he's had some troubles, but the thing on Saturday is a load of crap and the mud is sticking.
"They walked into the club and some bloke's just gone past and stared at Todd, just trying to stir him up. Mitch just stepped in and said, 'Go away, we don't want any dramas.' The bouncer has just over-reacted. He just didn't want Todd in there because people were going to try to stir him up."
Carney has also proclaimed his innocence following the latest incident, in his home town. The 22-year-old - who is suspended by the Raiders for an alcohol-fuelled night at the All Bar Nun nightclub in Canberra on July 20 in which he allegedly urinated on a patron - has maintained he left voluntarily.
A board meeting to decide Carney's future was yesterday postponed until Thursday, however, there was speculation yesterday some highly placed officials at the club wanted his contract torn up immediately.
On the same day as the latest incident, Carney publicly apologised for the incident in the All Bar Nun toilets but said he felt he had been the victim of an "old-fashioned witch-hunt".
"I am not an angel - far from it," he said. "I am a 22-year-old; I love my footy and having a good time. I am the first to admit that I have had some issues off the field I am also very aware that I have had some problems when drinking alcohol. I do not have an alcohol problem in needing to drink all the time or anything like that; more a problem with not handling myself in a proper manner on occasion when on the drink. I am addressing this issue to avoid future incidents."
But his manager David Riolo said he had been told Carney was not drinking alcohol at the party, and that the troubled star had denied he had been thrown out of the premises.
"I spoke to Todd, and he said he wasn't involved," Riolo said last night. "He was with his mum, and they went to a 50th at the Goulburn Workers'. His mum told me he wasn't involved."
When it was put to him that the development would not look good as Carney was still to face the Canberra board about his previous misdemeanours, Riolo said: "I'm not going to admit anything until I find out what's going on. His mum said he wasn't even on the drink."
Riolo left yesterday for a skiing holiday with his family in the Snowy Mountains and had spoken with Raiders chief executive Don Furner - before the latest development - to arrange for he and his client to front the board on Thursday to clarify a list of conditions imposed by the club.
The Raiders had initially told the halfback he would have to accept an alcohol ban, suspension from the rest of the season, counselling and volunteer work if he wanted to stay with the club.




