Why NRL’s Ivan Cleary decision not to hand out fine for ref blow up sets a dangerous example

The NRL is supposed to set the standard for grassroots footy, yet right now you are entitled to wonder what direction the game is heading.

Cleary’s escape sets a dangerous example for junior coaches.

I’m starting to feel sorry for Ivan Cleary because misinformation has really hammered his reputation in recent times.

Of course, it started last year with reports about Cleary’s supposed plan to exit Wests Tigers for Penrith that Cleary initially labelled “misinformation”.

Then there were rumours about an alleged fallout with Phil Gould this year that Cleary also denied.

Now, claims Cleary swore at referee Ashley Klein during a halftime blow up last weekend have been proven unfounded because “there were a number of conflicting versions about the events in question”.

Seriously, you couldn’t make this stuff up, or could you?

Because that is exactly what we are again being led to believe has happened.

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary speaks to the media following Penrith’s loss to Canberra

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We talk about the NRL supposedly setting the standard for grassroots footy to follow.

Yet right now you are entitled to wonder what direction the game is heading.

The allegations made by Fox Sports’ rugby league journalist Andy Raymond last Sunday were extremely serious.

Raymond claimed that Cleary fumed in Klein’s direction during halftime: “Ashley, they’re fucking lying all over us. You can’t let them. You’ve got to stop them.”

Of course, we all know that coaches are not supposed to approach match officials during game.

But Cleary claimed that he said nothing “untoward”, that he just wanted to clarify something.

Yet people within Fox Sports maintain Raymond heard what he heard.

Raymond is a highly experienced commentator/reporter with friends at every club, and he regularly hears and sees things that go unreported.

Yet on this occasion he made the professional judgment that this story could not be ignored, so he came forward knowing full well it would erupt in a major controversy.

The NRL then contacted Fox Sports and asked if there was video or audio footage to back up the statement.

Given it was a Channel 9 game, Fox Sports did not have access to that. So they told the NRL they would have to contact Channel 9.

Referee Ashley Klein has words to Penrith's James Maloney. Picture: Brett Costello

Raymond was asked to give a statement which he is believed to have done.

Who to believe is entirely up to you.

The NRL also stated “it is however a timely reminder that coaches should not place themselves in a position where they might be perceived to be approaching referees during matches”.

Whatever that means.

Even the NRL’s own website was last night reporting the fact Cleary had spoken to the match officials while directing skipper James Tamou to raise an issue with Klein at halftime.

What message this sends to the grassroots of the game should be the NRL’s next concern.

First up this week Jake Trbojevic escaped suspension for a dangerous lifting tackle that was not unlike the ones that landed Issac Luke and Nick Cotric three match bans.

Referee Ashley Klein under pressure at Penrith last Sunday. Picture: Brett Costello

It made a joke of the NRL’s match review committee yet again.

I approached former NRL referee Phil Haines, who was also formerly in charge of the Penrith District Rugby League Referees’ Association, to get his take.

At that time we spoke the outcome of the Cleary investigation was not finalised.

But as Haines told me, regardless of whether Cleary swore or not, no coach at any level is supposed to approach a referee at any stage during a game.

Former NRL referee Phil Haines has no doubt NRL behaviour impacts grassroots development

And there is a reason for this.

We have kids around the country every weekend refereeing other kids who are almost the same age.

They do it mainly to pick up some pocket money, but also because it is a job that no one else seems to want.

And who wants to see a ratbag coach at the junior footy approach and abuse a referee at halftime?

Whether they like it or not, NRL coaches are role models for junior coaches just like players are to the kids.

Asked what punishment Cleary would have copped if he was a junior coach, Haines replied: “He would be suspended but the length of time would depend on how in-depth the report was and how bad it was.

“They don’t condone approaching referees at all.”

But this is the problem for the NRL now, because what happens at the elite level does filter down.

As Haines explained: “My son plays under 12s and he watches Kalyn Ponga on Friday night and he wants to go out and do exactly what (Ponga) does on the Saturday. And there is no doubt (junior) coaches are doing exactly the same thing.”

A couple of weeks ago the NRL made a huge deal of Belinda Sharpe becoming the first female to referee at the elite level.

NRL referee Belinda Sharpe

Even ignoring Cleary’s alleged blow up, I wonder how Sharpe would have handled James Maloney and Tamou standing over her like they did to Klein last Sunday.

Klein is not a big man, even Maloney was towering over him.

Yet while Klein does have the experience to deal with situations like this, other less experienced referees like perhaps Sharpe might struggle.

As would junior referees if faced with the same intimidation tactics.

I truly hope the NRL is satisfied with its investigation.

There was a time not so long ago where Ricky Stuart was fined for uttering the word “shit” at a post-match media conference for which he immediately apologised.

Trent Robinson was also fined $40,000 a few years back for an incident on Anzac Day.

Yet now it seems the NRL has relaxed its policy to the point where coaches can pretty much say and do whatever they want and it just gets swept under the carpet.

Originally published as Why NRL’s Ivan Cleary decision not to hand out fine for ref blow up sets a dangerous example