Luke hits out at ref ‘demotion’
New Zealand Warriors hooker Issac Luke says the ‘demotion’ of referee Gerard Sutton to their NRL game against the Titans on Sunday is ‘‘an insult’’.
In a hastily-deleted tweet, Luke wrote that he’d just discovered the ‘‘low profile’’ match Sutton had been assigned after a controversial showing in last weekend’s match between the Cronulla Sharks and Canberra Raiders was one he and his teammates will be playing in.
‘‘What an insult. @NRL uppercut yourself. That’s dispresectful [sic] to both teams. Lessssssgoooo Boys,’’ Luke wrote.
Sutton is regarded as the NRL’s top referee and was the lead whistleblower in all three State of Origin matches this year but a story on the official NRL website said the ref ‘‘has been assigned to a lower-profile match’’.
Penrith Panthers boss and media pundit Phil Gould replied to a question from a fan on Twitter over the appointment.
‘‘To describe it as demotion is demeaning to teams involved,’’ Gould wrote. ‘‘It highlights naivety, insensitivity, inexperience. All the things that have referees in the situation they find themselves. All this can be fixed. I honestly believe it. But I can’t see these people fixing it.’’
Prior to Luke’s tweet, Warriors chief executive Cameron George told Stuff: ‘‘Our sole focus is on our performance against the Titans and preparing the best we can.’’