The NRL was left with no choice but to drop referee Ashley Klein because his Eden Park howler directly influenced the result.
Klein was stood down from refereeing in this weekend’s preliminary finals, which makes it difficult for him to be in charge of Sunday’s week’s grand final.
He will be in the bunker for Friday’s first preliminary final between the Dolphins and Roosters in Brisbane. Adam Gee will be the man in the middle. Gerard Sutton will officiate Sunday’s Panthers-Knights grand final qualifier.
Sources with knowledge of the situation not authorised to speak publicly confirmed the NRL believed Klein had made a poor judgment call.
Despite the high-profile dumping, Klein found an unlikely supporter in Penrith, NSW and Australia captain Isaah Yeo, who believed his relegation was “pretty harsh”.
Klein paid the price when he failed to penalise Newcastle prop Tyson Frizell for escorting Warriors’ centre Leka Halasima off the ball in the final minute of Sunday’s 12-10 thriller.
A penalty would have gifted the Warriors a shot at goal from in front, and sent the match into golden point extra-time.
Instead, the premier whistleblower was overheard telling players during the TV coverage he thought there had been nothing more than a “collision” between Frizell and Halasima.
The NRL will often during their weekend reviews use a scale from one to five to assess decisions, with five being the worst and is a call that impacts a result.
The fact Klein’s call happened in the final minute could not be ignored. The same sources confirmed Klein would have been dropped had he made a similar decision so late in a game earlier in the season.
Several referees have been dropped because of performance this season, including Liam Kennedy who blew 17 penalties, 11 set restarts, and made a number of contentious decisions in a round four game featuring the Titans and Dragons. But on that occasion, none of Kennedy’s mistakes directly impacted the result.
Klein oversaw all three Origins this season and is viewed by many as the best in the business.
Yeo is a fan of Klein, has dealt with him in plenty of big games, and said of his weekend performance: “I thought he let the game flow really well. The game on Saturday [between the Roosters and Sharks with Gee in charge] had a lot more six-agains and weird ones where it’s up to the refs to interpret.
“For the most part, Ash let both teams sort it out [on Sunday]. Obviously, there were 50/50 decisions, but over the course of a year, I feel like it evens up.
“The Warriors have been on top of a lot of penalties, and while you feel dirty at the time, it balances out.
“There’s obviously going to be a lot of scrutiny around elimination games. I thought it was pretty harsh for Ash, but it gives someone else an opportunity.”
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