NRL drops officials over Soliola incident

Matt Cecchin has avoided a week in reserve grade for not sending off Sia Soliola last weekend, but senior NRL review official Bernard Sutton has been demoted.

NRL Referee Matt Cecchin

Matt Cecchin has avoided the sack for failing to send Sio Soliola off for knocking out Billy Slater. (AAP)

NRL referee Matt Cecchin escaped sanction for failing to send Sia Soliola off for his sickening hit on Billy Slater, because he was unsighted.

Senior NRL review official Bernard Sutton and assistant on-field referee Chris Butler were both demoted on Tuesday, as Canberra forward Soliola was suspended for five games for the dangerous late and high tackle.

But Cecchin will officiate in Friday's NRL clash between the Warriors and Cronulla, as it's understood he was following his duties as lead referee in watching the ball as it was passed across the field.

"The officials who were ultimately responsible for the decision, given it occurred in backplay, were the senior review official and the assist referee," Archer said.

"As a result, Bernie Sutton will not be a senior review official in round 21, and Chris Butler will officiate in Queensland Cup.

"It is my expectation that the assist referee firstly identifies incidents in backplay, while the senior review official should have taken stronger action due to the serious nature of this incident."

As a result, Sutton will drop back to the role of regular bunker reviewer, and will have all his major decisions overseen by senior official Luke Patten.

Regular review from Saturday night official Bryan Norrie has also escaped punishment. He'll work with Cecchin in Friday night's clash from the bunker.

Cecchin is considered one of the NRL's most senior referees, having officiated in this year's State of Origin series and the 2016 grand final.

Archer was particularly critical of the decision not to send Soliola off after the dangerous tackle, which floored Slater and ruled him out for this week's clash with Manly.

The former on-field referee released a statement after the game, declaring it had met the indicators required for a send-off.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world