Paul Gallen and Phil Gould have joined the chorus of criticism levelled at referee Peter Gough over the controversial hair-pulling incident involving Jarome Luai in Penrith’s win over the Knights.
As debate rages over whether the call for a penalty was valid in the Knights’ golden point loss, NRL head of football Graham Annesley said Gough was in a “no-win situation”.
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Yet that hasn’t stopped leading voices in the game questioning the decision after Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien and the man who committed the offence ,Tyson Frizell, fumed at the call in the post-match press conference.
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While Annesley said the angle in which the referee viewed the incident revealed Frizell had a fistful of Luai’s hair, Gallen labelled the call “ridiculous” on Nine’s 100% Footy.
“It’s clear as day he hasn’t tried to grab the hair on purpose. His hair is flowing down the back of the jersey,” said Gallen.
“Jarome Luai can have any hair style he wants but if it’s going to come down the back of your jersey and someone grabs at it, tough luck.
“I’m sure Jarome Luai would say that, I don’t think he’d have a problem with it to be honest. I can’t believe he was penalised for it, it was a ridiculous penalty.”
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Gould added: “It’s a stupid penalty, he had hold of his jersey. His hair was in the way who cares? What do they do in the girls’ game?
“I saw a girl get put into touch because her hair dropped over the line. She was near the sideline and the touchy put his flag up.”
In his address to the media this week, Annesely said there had been 15 instances of hair pulls in the last five years and that the same rules apply in the women’s game.
“We’ve got the NRLW competition this year. It would be ridiculous for us to say, ‘Well, if you’ve got long hair you’ve got to expect it to be pulled at some point’. Is it possible players can get their hair pulled accidentally? Yeah, of course.
“It’s a really difficult one for the administration of the game and a difficult one for the referees on the field because they only act on what they see. I know my explanation is not going to satisfy Newcastle or their fans, but I just don’t know what else the referee could have done in that situation.”
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