Newcastle were today slapped with a $5000 fine by the NRL for comments made by chief executive Steve Burraston questioning the impartiality of referees.
Newcastle chief executive Steve Burraston continued his attack on referees today despite being hit with a $5000 fine by the NRL for questioning their impartiality.
Burraston was furious after his side succumbed to Cronulla on Saturday night with two penalty goals giving the Sharks a 16-13 win at Toyota Stadium.
"I think referees have a preconceived idea that we're an undisciplined club and we give a lot of penalties away and they look for every minor thing that they can possibly penalise us on," Burraston had said.
NRL chief executive David Gallop explained the league had set clear guidelines about what can and cannot be said when questioning a referee's performance and Burraston overstepped the mark.
"We have been very clear about which comments will attract a fine and to accuse referees of having a pre-conceived idea of how a match should go is a direct attack on a referee's integrity and a clear breach of those rules," Gallop said.
"There is plenty of scope to criticise a referee's performance but to question his integrity is not acceptable."
The Knights had been given five days to respond to the breach notice but in a statement late today Burraston said he would begrudgingly accept the penalty.
"I'll cop it on the chin. I was a bit emotional and extremely frustrated," said Burraston.
"I think our coach and players are doing an amazing job and I feel for them. They don't deserve to lose games this way. We are much better than our position on the table shows.
"In no way did I set out to offend anyone or to receive a breach but I had nowhere else to go and watching the replay several times has presented more questions that require answers from the match officials."
In 2008 Newcastle have conceded the most penalties and received the least.
It is a perplexing situation for the Knights and Burraston cannot understand why they're so unlucky with referees.
"We have gone through every possible official channel with very genuine concerns about a number of interpretations and rulings over recent weeks," he said.
"We continue working to improve our situation but continue to concede more penalties than any other team. I might be watching a different game but from where I'm sitting we are not half a penalty count less disciplined than opposition teams.
"For several weeks we have asked questions through the proper channels, not always agreeing with the response, but accepting and working hard to improve.
"There are a number of discrepancies that we will be seeking explanation for and I still can not understand the Bailey penalty, which I believe was the major turning point of the game."
