Ruon Kuk Tongyik is a professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, Wanderers, or simply as WSW) is an Australian professional association football club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in t ...

. Born in South Sudan, he represents Australia internationally.

Club career

Melbourne City

After being named

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club was one of the eight founding members of the A-League Men and have competed in it concurrently since its formation, u ...

's "Youth Player of the Year", Tongyik joined Melbourne City in July 2016 on a two-year contract. He made his debut for City on 9 December 2016 in a 1–1 draw against

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

Stadium Australia Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the suburb of Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium, which is sometimes referred to as Sydney Ol ...

Western Sydney Wanderers

On 3 May 2018, Tongyik was released by Melbourne City and joined

. In January 2019, he was released by Western Sydney Wanderers.

Brisbane Roar

On 6 February 2019

Brisbane Roar FC Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's football pyramid. When Queensland Lions F.C. were ...

announced that Tongyik had signed for the club for the remainder of the 2018–19 season.

Central Coast Mariners

In May 2019, Tongyik signed with

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Mar ...

on a two-year deal. In June 2022, Tongyik was released at the conclusion of the 2021–22 season after two seasons with the Mariners.

Return to Western Sydney Wanderers

In July 2022, Tongyik re-joined the

on a two-year contract. Tongyik was then loaned to

Persian Gulf Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League (, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Premier League (, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is a professional association football league in Iran and the highest level of the Iranian football league s ...

club

Mes Kerman Mes Kerman Football Club (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Sân't-e Mes Kârman'') is an Iranian professional association football, football team based in Kerman, Iran. They were promoted to Iran's top league, the Iran Pro League, in the 2005–06 season. ...

in January 2023 on a year-long loan. The club was relegated to the

Azadegan League The Azadegan League (, ''Lig-e Âzâdegân''), also known as League 1 (, ''Lig-e Yek''), is the second highest division of professional football in Iran. It was the top-level football league in Iran from its foundation in 1991 until 2001, when t ...

and imposed fines on the players which it tried to enforce by keeping their passports. At the end of the season, Tongyik returned to parent club Western Sydney Wanderers and was included in the squad for their first official game, the Round of 32 of the 2023 Australia Cup. After Tongyik was granted bail at Penrith Local Court on 20 October 2023, Western Sydney Wanderers and

Football Australia Football Australia is the sports governing body, governing body of Soccer in Australia, soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Au ...

imposed a no-fault interim suspension from participating in football and club-related activities.

International career

After representing Australia at under-23 level, he was called up by the South Sudan national team in September 2019. Tongyik received his first selection for the Australian national team in May 2021. He made his international debut on 7 June 2021 in a World Cup Qualifier against

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

. In August 2021, Tongyik was stood down from the Socceroos and deselected from the Olympics squad due to charges of sexual assault.https://au.news.yahoo.com/ex-socceroo-cleared-raping-woman-034656081.html He was found not guilty of all charges in March 2025.

Personal life

Born in South Sudan, Tongyik lived there for about three years, and had stayed with relatives in Ethiopia while documents allowing him and his family to move to Australia were processed. Tongyik moved to Australia in 2003, aged 6. He has 3 younger sisters and 1 younger brother. They all currently live in Adelaide.

Criminal trial and not guilty verdict

On 20 October 2023, Tongyik was charged with sexual intercourse without consent in connection with an alleged incident that occurred in 2018 in

Mount Druitt Mount Druitt is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown, and is part of the Greater Western Sydney regio ...

. He was granted bail under strict conditions, including residing at his home in

Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Bellevue Hill is a harbourside suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, located five kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Municipality of Woollahra. The suburb is located w ...

, daily reporting to Waverley police station, surrendering his passport, and having only one mobile phone. Tongyik was found not guilty on all charges in a trial held in March 2025.https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/soccer/former-socceroo-ruon-tongyik-cleared-of-rape-allegation-c-18101939

Career statistics

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tongyik, Ruon 1996 births Living people Australian men's soccer players Australia men's youth international soccer players Australia men's international soccer players South Sudanese men's footballers Australian people of South Sudanese descent Sportspeople of South Sudanese descent South Sudanese emigrants to Australia Men's association football defenders Adelaide United FC players Melbourne City FC players Western Sydney Wanderers FC players Brisbane Roar FC players Central Coast Mariners FC players National Premier Leagues players A-League Men players Sanat Mes Kerman F.C. players Persian Gulf Pro League players Expatriate men's footballers in Iran 21st-century Australian sportsmen