The NRL has issued Manly a $25,000 breach notice after comments made by Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler and prop Josh Aloiai about the officiating in their loss to Parramatta.
Following his side’s agonising last gasp defeat when star Eel Mitch Moses slotted through a game-winning conversion from the sideline, Hasler highlighted several incidents that he felt contributed to the loss, pointing the finger at what he claimed were dubious calls from referee Ben Cummins.
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Hasler questioned the 9-2 penalty count against his team, declaring the Eels had been “legged back into the game”.
The NRL also took into account comments made by Aloiai at a training session in the aftermath of the match.
“We were pretty hard done by, for the most part, the ref did us no favours, particularly in the back end of the game,” he said. “I think he did a bad job and we didn’t get away with the win. So I’m pretty unhappy with him, to be honest with you.”
Manly has five business days to respond to the notice, with NRL CEO Andrew Abdo making the league’s position clear.
“The comments by a coach of Des’ standing were disappointing,” said. “Particularly disappointing was the sustained criticism of match officials over the course of the week.
“We look to those in leadership positions in the game to set an example. We understand that passions run high, but that is simply no excuse to make comments which question the integrity and competence of our officials.
“Public criticism of this nature makes it harder to recruit and retain match officials at all levels of the game.
“To see not only a coach, but a player, criticise officials to this extent is not the level of professionalism we expect in rugby league.”
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