The Roosters have been issued a breach notice proposing fines totalling $40,000 after the alleged on-field abuse of match officials and coach Trent Robinson’s controversial post-game comments last Friday.
The NRL has proposed a $20,000 fine for comments Robinson made in the wake of his side’s heavy loss to South Sydney, which would also trigger a previous suspended $10,000 fines for a similar outburst after the Roosters loss to Parramatta in May.
The club has also been issued a separate $10,000 fine for alleged abuse of the on-field match officials and stand-by referee Matt Cecchin, who was seated on the sideline at Suncorp Stadium.
The NRL’s breach notice alleges the “abusive comments” were made by Roosters officials, with NRL head of football Graham Annesley declining to elaborate on the role held by the club official during his weekly football briefing on Monday.
Speaking after the high tackle by Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell that ended former teammate Joey Manu’s season and left him with a severe facial fracture, Robinson fumed that the decision to sin bin Mitchell and not send him off was “laughable and an absolute farce”.
According to the NRL’s breach notice, Robinson “claimed match officials had a bias against the Roosters and exposed individual match officials to personal ridicule in contravention of NRL rules.”
