The Sydney Roosters have been fined and warned after Friday night drama

The Sydney Roosters have been fined and warned over their conduct following dramatic events at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.

Trouble flared after Roosters centre Joe Manu, centre, was hit with a high tackle

The Sydney Roosters sanction from the NRL has taken another intriguing twist after it emerged that the club’s head of football operations Chris James — a former first-grade referee of some note — was among the cluster of officials on the sideline at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.

James, who retired as a top-flight referee after more than 200 games, has been with the Roosters for four years. He has been a constant presence on the sideline over that time, including on Friday night as the Roosters allowed their emotions to get the better of them against bitter rivals South Sydney.

The NRL on Monday hit the club with fines totalling $40,000 — the vast majority as a result of coach Trent Robinson’s comments immediately after the match at the post-game press conference. However, the club was also fined $10,000 for abuse of the match officials during the game.

It is understood standby referee Matt Cecchin came in for some particularly heavy treatment given he was stationed on the sidelines. At the forefront of NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo’s mind when it came to sanctioning the club was the desire to send a message to the wider community that abuse of match officials was beyond the pale.

“I go to kids’ game and I see some of the parents and what they say to the officials,” Abdo said.

“Your blood boils. You wonder where that comes from. There is no place for the abuse or harassment of match officials by club officials on the sideline.

“It’s not tolerated in community sport and it’s certainly not tolerated in elite sport. It is important that at the highest level all club officials control their emotions and set an example to everyone in our sport.

“We will not hesitate to remove the sideline access of any official who repeatedly makes abusive comments towards our match officials.”

Robinson was scathing of the match officials after the game and those comments infuriated the NRL. As well as a $20,000 breach for his comments on Friday night, Robinson was handed an additional $10,000 that was suspended following comments earlier in the year.

The NRL alleged Robinson claimed match officials had a bias against the Roosters and exposed individual match officials to personal ridicule in contravention of NRL rules at his post-match press conference.

Robinson was also at the centre of claims that he offended Souths forward Jaydn Su’A with comments at halftime, an allegation that has been denied by both men. The Australian understands that Robinson said something to Su’A about milking penalties, but the Rabbitohs backrower took no offence.

Su’A, in fact, has told those close to him that he has immense respect for Robinson. The NRL is also continuing to investigate allegations that prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves had an altercation with a broadcast cameraman during the game.

No determination has been made at this time. The fallout comes after one of the most volatile derbies in recent memory between the bitter rivals, culminating in the end of Latrell Mitchell’s season after he was charged for a high tackle that left Roosters centre Joey Manu with a fractured cheekbone.

“Sport can be highly emotional and sometimes people will debate decisions made on the field and we expect all clubs to deal with on-field matters respectfully,’’ Abdo said.

“We can analyse and debate decisions, but such commentary should not be personalised and disrespectful. In our view there was a lack of professionalism shown by the club and its officials across Friday night.

“We’re an elite competition and we should set the standard for how to deal with adversity.”

Mitchell is expected to remain with the side on Queensland’s Gold Coast and help young fullback Blake Taaffe prepare for the finals.

“I don’t want to see Latrell change his game at all,” Souths centre Campbell Graham said.

“I love what he brings on the field, I love his aggression and his intent on the field. Sometimes things go wrong on the footy field and sometimes you’re on the wrong end of it.

“It’s a shame, you don’t ever want to see anyone from the opposition teams getting hurt, that’s not what our game is about.

 “Unfortunately sometimes it goes wrong and like I said no one wants to see that, I don‘t want to see that but sometimes that’s just how it is.

“Latrell is definitely not the only player that gets it wrong, there’s plenty of players in the NRL that bring that same aggression.

“That’s what a lot of people love to see, we see it plenty of times throughout the year when players just get it wrong and some players might get hurt … it’s just one of those things about playing rugby league I guess.”