Referees boss Bernard Sutton calls Raiders coach Ricky Stuart to apologise for Cronulla debacle

REFEREES boss Bernard Sutton has phoned Raiders coach Ricky Stuart to apologise for the refereeing howler that all but ended Canberra’s slim finals aspirations.

Ricky Stuart was shattered at the post match press conference after the Cronulla loss.

REFEREES boss Bernard Sutton has phoned Raiders coach Ricky Stuart this morning to apologise for Friday night’s refereeing howler.

In one of the most bizarre blunders seen in years, Canberra players stopped defending when touch judge Rick Macfarlane put his flag in the air in the 58th minute after what appeared to be a knock-on from Sharks centre Jesse Ramien.

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Ricky Stuart speaks at the post match press conference after the Cronulla loss. Picture: Brett Costello

Instead, the referee allowed Sione Katoa to play-on and score a try.

Canberra fell agonisingly short of staging a come-from-behind-victory that would have kept their finals aspirations in tact, however it wasn’t to be, with the men in lime green falling to the Sharks 28-24 in Cronulla.

A gutted Stuart told The Telegraph he took Sutton’s call out of respect for the besieged head of the NRL refereeing department.

“Bernie said the call was wrong - and he apologised,’’ Stuart told The Telegraph.

“What more could he say.

“I actually feel sorry for Bernie because he’s making calls that he shouldn’t have to make, but he does it because he’s under the directive of his superiors.

“We spoke for about 10 minutes - but in reality, it doesn’t change a thing.’’

The passionate Canberra coach has worn his heart on his sleeve throughout his career, but Stuart sounded a defeated man speaking to Tim Gavel on ABC Grandstand on Saturday morning.

The touch judge raises his flag as Sione Katoa runs away to score a vital try.

Stuart went as far as calling the bus ride home the worst he’d experienced in his coaching career, pointing out the ‘deafening silence’ present on the journey back to the nation’s capital.

Deflated, and typically honest, Stuart declared the NRL is ‘using and abusing the game’ in reference to the midseason change of rule interpretations, while also pointing out the different treatment the club from the nation’s capital receive.

“We get treated differently here,” Stuart told Gavel on Saturday morning.

Stuart spoke of his disappointment at having another game decided by referees. Picture: Brett Costello

“I’ve been at a number of different clubs, this club gets treated differently to other clubs that I’ve been involved in and I know other clubs who have got a higher profile and who they (the NRL) need in their competition.

“I believe we get treated differently at times. That’s the way it feels to me.”

Stuart stated that Sutton attempted to contact him prior to the post match press conference in a bid to calm the inevitable storm on his department, to which the Raiders coach refused.

“There was no way in the world he was going to give me any excuse before the press conference,” Stuart said.

Stuart went on to say the fault lies in the Bunker system, rather than the referees themselves who have been laid bare to implement the fluctuating interpretations.

“I feel sorry for the refs, I’ve said this for a long time,” Stuart said.

“I know the referees are not happy with the current processes of communication and the people around them who are telling them how to do their jobs. And why wouldn’t they because it’s making them look senseless at times?

“More and more and more the referees are deciding games now,” he said.

“We’re the only game in the world I know that can change interpretations and constantly have the change of vocab through the season.

“How do you have 25, 26, 28 penalties in a game for 14 rounds and then all of a sudden you come out and you get five-eight penalty counts?

“We’re using and abusing the game, it’s a disgrace.”

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Originally published as Referees boss Bernard Sutton calls Raiders coach Ricky Stuart to apologise for Cronulla debacle