Ivan Cleary denies swearing at NRL referee Ashley Klein
Days after saying he “might’ve” spoken to an NRL referee in the tunnel during last week’s loss to Canberra, Penrith coach Ivan Cleary now says he didn’t and is considering his legal options after Fox Sports’ report.
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Ivan Cleary is gearing up for a legal showdown with Fox Sports over allegations he swore at referee Ashley Klein during a heated halftime blow up last Sunday.
In a stunning backflip after admitting he had spoken to match officials, Cleary is now saying “I didn’t say anything to him”.
Cleary indicated he was now considering his legal options.
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Fox League reporter Andy Raymond told an NRL investigation he heard Cleary tell Klein: “Ashley, they’re f … ing lying all over us. You can’t let them. You’ve got to stop them.”
It is understood Raymond is standing by his version of the story.
It sets up another potential fiery showdown at ANZ Stadium this Saturday when Fox League broadcasts Penrith’s match against Canterbury, as NRL coaches are required to talk to the host broadcaster before each game.
Cleary has had a running battle with some sections of the media in recent times after last year claiming speculation linking him to Penrith while still under contract at Wests Tigers was “misinformation”.
At the time Cleary said it was his intention to see out the remaining two years of his contract with the Tigers, although he ultimately left to join Penrith this year on a five-year deal.
Cleary was asked at his post-match media conference last Sunday if he had said something to the referees at halftime to which he responded: “Ah, I might’ve spoke to them, yeah, possibly, it wasn’t, you can ask them. It was nothing untoward.
“I wanted to clarify something, it happens every week you want to get some clarification around certain things.”
But on Thursday Cleary claimed his comments were misinterpreted and was “not surprised” the three-day NRL investigation into the allegations had cleared him — despite copping a warning from the governing body.
“I certainly didn’t speak to Ashley Klein, I certainly didn’t swear. I have never sworn in the 28 years and in 500 odd games, I’ve never sworn or abused anybody,” he said.
“I can’t understand where all this came from.
“I said after the game that there was nothing in it.
“Thankfully, but not surprisingly, the NRL thought the same.”
The NRL claimed its investigation discovered “there were a number of conflicting versions about the events in question”.
Cleary denied that he spoke to the refs “directly”, insisting he went to speak to his captain, James Tamou.
“I was asked if I spoke to the referees and I said, ‘yeah I think so’. Because I didn’t speak to anyone directly, I spoke to James Tamou directly and he didn’t hear me. He was already talking to Ash (Klein).
“So I hung around and just watched how that went down.”
“I said, ‘I might’ve’, because I spoke to Jimmy, who was across the other side of the tunnel.
“I just thought maybe one of the refs — certainly not Ash because he didn’t even look at me and I didn’t talk to him — thought that I said something.
“That’s why I said might’ve.
“This story’s completely fabricated. It’s laughable on one hand, but disappointing on the other.”
Cleary said he has told the NRL’s head of football, Graham Annesley, that he will no longer go into a tunnel to avoid any chance of a similar incident happening again.
“I do some games on the sideline so I'll walk in the tunnel but I’ve been in the tunnel plenty of times,” he said.
“I said to Graham in future I won’t get in the tunnel. But at the end of the day that’s all I did. I totally respect officials.”
Cleary said he understood how conflicting accounts of the incident and Raymond’s report might have created some confusion but again maintained there was no wrongdoing on his part.
“I suppose any sort of mud can sometimes stick. The NRL has done what was always going to happen [cleared me], because it was just a completely false accusation,” he said.
Originally published as Ivan Cleary denies swearing at NRL referee Ashley Klein
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