Warriors boss to protest referee decisions to NRL

Warriors boss Cameron George says he will be seeking a response from the NRL over several refereeing decisions made against the club in recent weeks.

It comes as Jason Paris, chief executive of Warriors sponsor One NZ, has come under fire for comments made during the Warriors’ 18-6 loss to the Penrith Panthers on Saturday night.

Paris described refereeing decisions made against the Warriors on social media as “cheating of the highest order”, prompting a furious response from NRL boss Andrew Abdo and the NRL referees’ union to consider taking legal action.

The Professional Rugby League Match Officials — which represents the sport’s referees — has spoken to lawyers about potentially launching defamation proceedings against Paris.

Paris walked back his accusation of cheating on Monday, but insisted there was “unconscious bias happening every week against the Warriors”.

Speaking to News Corp after the Warriors’ loss, George said Paris was entitled to his opinion but said he did not speak for the club.

“Jason is entitled to say that as a fan of the sport and a big supporter of our club,” he said.

“That’s his call. It’s not a club comment.”

George added that the Warriors will be approaching the NRL with evidence of decisions that have gone against the Warriors.

“We have a significant amount of evidence from games over the last month that we want to raise with the NRL.

“We’ll take it up with the appropriate people at the NRL.

“Every fan in the sport wants consistency. We want explanations to understand their decision-making process.

“We’re not blowing up and throwing our toys out of the cot every time a bad decision is made but we believe there has been a lack of consistency.”

The Warriors only conceded two penalties more than the Panthers in Saturday’s defeat, but gave away four ruck infringements to one and had two players — Jackson Ford and Demitric Sifakula — sin-binned in the second half.

Asked about the Warriors situation on Tuesday, Sports Minister Grant Robertson said he understands the frustration from Warriors fans.

“I think the Warriors have been having a good season. I think when you look at it over a period of time there are a lot of decisions that I know Warriors fans have found really questionable. So I can understand why people are complaining.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission