Leading Super League referee Richard Silverwood is set to face an employment tribunal as he seeks to hang on to his job.
The Rugby Football League has not divulged any reason for suspending the official but has confirmed it has completed its investigation into an incident involving the game's longest-serving full-time referee.
Press Association Sport understands Silverwood, who has not refereed a match since the Super League Magic Weekend in Newcastle last month, is facing a charge of inappropriate behaviour and will appear in front of a tribunal next month.
Silverwood, who turned 40 on Thursday, became Super League's youngest official when he took charge of his first game in 2001 at the age of just 24 and he refereed the 2013 World Cup final but this is not the first time he has been suspended.
In 2011, Silverwood was dropped following an off-field incident at a match between Huddersfield and Leeds and in 2009 he was suspended for what the RFL described as an alleged breach of its information technology policy.
Silverwood announced earlier this week that he was standing down as coach of amateur rugby league club Mirfield and has been replaced by former Leeds playmaker Francis Maloney.
Silverwood, who was appointed as head coach when the club was launched in 2014, said: "I have very much enjoyed my time with the club, it has been a pleasure being part of the Mirfield Stags journey.
"However, in the short term, the time has come for me to focus on my career."
Sam Ansell, 26, who joined the RFL's nine-strong full-time panel of match officials in January, is also facing a tribunal after being suspended at the same time as Silverwood.
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