“Utter embarrassment” – St Helens fans furious after controversial red card

Salford Red Devils managed to win in St Helens against the Red Vee for the first time in 44 years but Saints fans have claimed that it was a game won by refereeing decisions.

After plenty of reaction to referees following the World Club Challenge and the opening two rounds of Super League, there has been less of an emphasis on the man in the middle recently.

Sadly that has changed with St Helens seeing Mark Percival sent off as just one of several seemingly contentious decisions in their 24-20 defeat to Salford.

Early on the game looked like it could be a procession with St Helens going 8-0 up inside 20 minutes with Jack Welsby and Lewis Dodd both scoring tries.

That lead was reduced with a Deon Cross score before Mark Percival reopened the eight-point game but the game turned when Percival was sent off three minutes into the second period.

Jon Wilkin spoke on Sky Sports’ live coverage claiming that there were no issues with the decision and despite extending their lead to 20-6, the Red Vee still managed to lose with tries from Nene Macdonald, Chris Atkin and Deon Cross earning a famous win for Paul Rowley’s side.

It’s a win that hasn’t gone down well with St Helens fans though with many pointing to officiating decisions as being the reason that they lost.

Former St Helens player among those to call out red card

The decision to send off Percival was contentious among Saints fans in itself but a potential missed obstruction call was another that upset fans of the Red Vee.

One former player even took to social media to share their disbelief at the red card. John Stankevitch made over 125 appearances for St Helens and he posted on X about the state of the game.

Reacting to Percival’s red card, he argued: Red card. What a total and utter embarrassment @TheRFL. Just can’t believe what I’m watching anymore. Wow. We can’t just stay silent anymore surely.”

Red card. What a total and utter embarrassment @TheRFL. Just can’t believe what I’m watching anymore. Wow. We can’t just stay silent anymore surely.

— John Stankevitch (@johnstankevitch) March 8, 2024

Whilst Stankevitch didn’t explicitly reference the referee and video referee, others did with one fan labelling Tom Grant and Marcus Griffiths a “disgrace”.

“Well done Tom Grant and Marcus Griffiths. You two are a disgrace. Great influence on the game. Good game spoiled for nothing.”

Well done Tom Grant and Marcus Griffiths. You two are a disgrace. Great influence on the game. Good game spoiled for nothing

— PW (@pjwilson1990) March 8, 2024

Comments regarding the officiating continued to flood in.

Worst referee performance I’ve seen, and I’m not including the red card in that.

— Matt Lewis (@nwalessaint) March 8, 2024

Well played referee got the result you wanted. Remind Wilkin he played for us too lads

— Aubs (@AubsEFC1985) March 8, 2024

One fan even wrote a mock application to become a referee and was incredibly harsh, particularly given that the red card was correct under the current rules.

They posted: “Hi @TheRFL @rob_hicks81 @RFLReferees I would like to apply for the position of referee. I’m a spineless, incompetent little jobsworth and I’ve never had the b***ocks to put a rugby kit on. I’m fairly certain I meet your criteria. Let us know how I get on. Cheers.”

Hi @TheRFL @rob_hicks81 @RFLReferees

I would like to apply for the position of referee.

I’m a spineless, incompetent little jobsworth and I’ve never had the bollocks to put a rugby kit on.

I’m fairly certain I meet your criteria.

Let us know how I get on. Cheers.

— Wayne Haselden (@WayneHaselden) March 8, 2024

Saints fans may well blame the officials but at home and three tries to the good with just twenty minutes to go they managed to lose, or more accurately failed to stop the brilliant and free-flowing Salford from rolling them over.