Wakefield Trinity and Leeds Rhinos chiefs fined for comments about match review panel
Wakefield Trinity chief executive Michael Carter and Leeds Rhinos coach Richard Agar have been punished for criticising the decisions of the Rugby Football League's match review panel.
Catalans Dragons general manager Alex Chan has also been fined for comments they made about the panel's verdicts.
Carter issued a statement on July 14 following the panel's decision to charge three players from the Wakefield-St Helens Super League match five days earlier.
One of the players, Saints second-row Sione Mata'utia, was forced to miss the Challenge Cup final after being found guilty of a dangerous tackle.
Carter described the citings as "random charges" based on "one nameless person's opinion on a Monday morning".
He also claimed it was futile challenging the decisions because "it's impossible to win an appeal unless you've enough evidence to free Ronnie Biggs".
He was fined £2,000, with £750 suspended until the end of the 2022 season, while Agar was fined £1,000, half of it suspended until end of the 2021 campaign, and Chan was given a £500 fine, suspended until the end of the campaign.
The RFL says all three were found guilty of breaching its operational rules and the Respect Policy but have a right of appeal.
A statement said: "The RFL works constantly with clubs on the efficacy of the game's disciplinary procedures. Those procedures include the right of appeal, and the opportunity for internal feedback."