A penalty offence in Australia’s National Rugby League competition has sparked a great controversy over the weekend, as players, coaches and legends alike are all weighing in their frustrations on the decision.
Taking place in last weekend’s clash between the Newcastle Knights and the Penrith Panthers, Tyson Frizell was penalised for pulling the hair of Jerome Luai whilst making a tackle. Tyson, the brother of All Blacks star Shannon Frizell, was frustrated with the penalty and aired his grievances after the game.
“When his hair is hanging halfway down his back and I am going to make a tackle it is incidental,” Frizell said to Sky Sports Australia.
“I guess if I do pull his hair it is classified as a penalty, but it wasn’t intentional and I’d like for him to tie his hair up.
“It was incidental, I wasn’t going for any hair or anything like that but when it is hanging half down your back, it’s hard not to grab a bit of it.”
The hair-pulling offence was the centre of attention for a post match discussion, with the ‘100% Footy’ show calling the decision a cacophony of ‘ridiculous, dumb and stupid.’
Newcastle Knights Coach Adam O’Brien gave his two-cents on the discussion, and joked about his players avoiding the barber shop for the rest of the season.
“Huge (call), it is ridiculous, otherwise I will advise them all to start growing their hair long, to try and get an advantage, it was ridiculous.” He said to Sky Sports Australia.