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NRL referees bosses Bill Harrigan and Stuart Raper keep their jobs after review but still under scrutiny

NRL referees boss Bill Harrigan and his assistant Stuart Raper will retain their jobs for now, but the ARL Commission have confirmed they are under scrutiny.

Bill Harrigan Stuart Raper
Bill Harrigan Stuart Raper

UNDER-fire NRL referees boss Bill Harrigan and his assistant Stuart Raper will retain their jobs for now, but the ARL Commission have confirmed they are under scrutiny.

ARL football operations manager Nathan McGuirk announced today a review was getting underway into the game's match official operations.

Harrigan and Raper have been under heavy pressure over the standard of refereeing in 2012 and the Daily Telegraph reported exclusively today  they'd lost the faith of senior referees.

ARLC chief executive David Gallop received a document outlining Harrigan's perceived failings as referees boss on Wednesday, and that appears to have been the trigger for the review.

"That process has already commenced and will involve confidential discussions with a number of stakeholders," McGuirk said in a statement on Thursday.

"We go into it with an open mind and will report to David Gallop in the near future."

Central to the report was Harrigan's justification of Greg Inglis' highly controversial try for Queensland in last week's State of Origin opener.

Raper and Halligan released a joint statement today responding to the mounting criticism.

"We are happy to assist with a review into the structures in place with the match officials operations and development," Harrigan read.

"We are confident that we have the right procedures in place and, as always, our focus remains on working to ensure our entire squad of match officials continue to perform at the highest possible standards."

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-referees-bosses-bill-harrigan-and-stuart-raper-keep-their-jobs-after-review-but-still-under-scrutiny/news-story/831479a848d0208fef1a7e5dd04cca8a