In a controversial game, Leigh Leopards came up short against St Helens.
After the game, Adrian Lam said he was “frustrated” with a number of key decisions that went against the Leopards as they came up short against the Saints.
He also described the sin binning of John Asiata as “outrageous.” Asiata was the subject of a whirlwind of controversy last year against St Helens.
This was because his tackle technique against the Saints in the Challenge Cup semi-final led to major injuries for Alex Walmsley and Agnatius Paasi. Paasi is still injured.
The rules allowed Asiata to avoid a suspension at the time which saw Paul Wellens slam the decision and question the RFL. The RFL amended the rules this off season outlawing tackles of that nature.
However, 40 seconds into his first game against the Saints since those incidents, Asiata produced a similar tackle on Sione Mata’utia. That said, there were some important differences. Nonetheless, Liam Moore deemed the tackle dangerous and he was sin binned in a move slammed by Lam among other decisions which seemed to irk the Leigh Leopards boss.
Footage emerges appearing to show Leigh Leopards official or staff member in altercation
After the game a Leigh Leopards official or staff member was seemingly captured in footage having an angry altercation with a fan after the game. The footage has been widely circulated across social media now and has unfortunately led to numerous false accusations which are untrue. The video also shows members of the Leigh squad involved in an effort to try and control the situation.
It is unknown what was said during the altercation which had some physical contact but did see a water bottle thrown.
It is important to remember that there are two sides to every story and without knowing what may have been said, it is impossible to reach a verdict on the incident. That being said, it is important to remember the standards we have set in this sport and if someone on either side of this altercation has let down those standards it would be deeply disappointing.
Hopefully the situation is resolved in the best way possible.
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