Ivan Cleary fine: Penrith Panthers boss wants post-match press conferences axed
The chairman of the Panthers has made the stunning call to ban post-match press conferences to avoid ‘emotional’ responses from coaches after Ivan Cleary was fined $20,000 for criticising the refs. Do you agree? Vote in our poll.
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Panthers chairman Dave O’Neill has controversially called for all NRL post-match press conferences involving coaches to be banned, in the wake of Ivan Cleary’s $20,000 fine for questioning the integrity of match officials.
Penrith have been left reeling from the hefty fine handed out to Cleary on Monday, with the coach revealing he will respond to the breach notice.
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But O’Neill believes Cleary should never have been put in that position in the first place, believing post-match press conferences leave coaches vulnerable to emotional outbursts.
Instead he wants media interviews with coaches held 24 hours after a game, to allow them time to collect their thoughts and also enjoy dressing room celebrations with victorious players and not be dragged away to front the media.
“If you don’t want coaches to comment – and if you don’t like emotional responses – then don’t have the interviews,” O’Neill said.
“Have them the next day.
“If you want to have after-game interviews that are more structured, then hold them a day after the game. The reality is they are done in the heat-of-the-moment.”
At the post-match press conference, held just 15 minutes after full time of their 28-12 win over Canberra on Saturday night, Cleary alleged Canberra were “managed back into the game” by referee Gerard Sutton in the second half after the Raiders trailed 24-0.
ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys slammed Cleary’s comments as “deplorable”, which preceded the $20,000 breach notice issued on Monday.
“If people want to critique the coaches and be critical then don’t have them straight after the game,” O’Neill said.
“Every coach will be a lot calmer the next day. And I’m sure all coaches would love that.
“The last thing you want to be doing as a coach – poor old Des Hasler gets pumped two weeks in a row – is to have microphones being stuck in their faces.
“I’m sure a day after, they would be happy to do it. If the interviews were 24 hours after a game, that would alleviate some of the emotional responses coaches comment on in the heat-of-the-moment.
“I feel sorry for all the NRL coaches. Rugby league coaches are under a lot of pressure and they’re judged more critically now than they ever have in the past because it’s a results-driven game. Obviously they say things in the heat of the moment.
“I’m a passionate person when it comes to football. When we win, I watch the replay four times. When we lose, I’m filthy. If someone put a microphone in my face after a game when we just had a dud call, I might make a dumb decision.”
O’Neill said captains were pulled from post-match press conference two years ago and coaches should be next.
“They took the captains away and that solved a bit of a problem too,” he said. “When you win, you, as coach, get taken away (to the media conference). That euphoria in a dressing room is something your coach should be part of. They are dragged away to go to a press conference.
“That euphoria is about team building, the inner sanctum, I’ve been there. You’re halfway through celebrating and they run in and say Channel 9 or Fox Sports are ready for them. The coach misses out on half the euphoria.”
An NRL spokesman said there were no plans to remove post-match media conferences, while Cleary released a statement after being hit with the fine.
“I will be submitting a formal response to the NRL breach notice I was issued earlier today,” Cleary.
“While that process runs its course, I wish to clarify it was never my intention to question the integrity of the referees.”
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Acting NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said Cleary’s comments were “disappointing and will not be tolerated.”
“I am disappointed that a person in a leadership position within our game has made comments that question the integrity of our officials. Our leaders should be professional and set the standard for our game. Comments like this will not be tolerated. The foundation of our competition is its integrity and Ivan’s comments undermined that,” Abdo said.
“At times our officials, like players, will make errors during games. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on those individual decisions, but we will not accept the integrity of our officials being questioned.”
V’landys added on Monday: “It’s very, very important that people consider what they say at these press conferences. To question someone’s integrity is not going to be tolerated and that is what happened during Ivan’s press conference.”
Originally published as Ivan Cleary fine: Penrith Panthers boss wants post-match press conferences axed