Quote: Derwent "From the disciplinary verdict....
[iCoach (Betts) spoke to official after game and official made no complaint about the incident. In the context of the game there was nothing deliberate or intentional on the part of the player.[/i
If the referee (George Stokes) thought it was anything other than an accidental collision then why did he take absolutely no action whatsoever at the time ? He did not stop play, didn't put it on report, didn't give a penalty or show any cards. Surely if he'd had any doubt he'd have at least put it on report ?
As for Ganson's part, it was he who referred it to the disciplinary panel after watching the video, even though Stokes had written in his match report that there was no intent on Hock's part in the incident.'"
So the ref didn't say it was an accident, the Widnes coach did.
Do you really think if the ref had reported it as an accident it would have been reviewed by the Panel, charged and found guilty?
I'm still struggling with the Ganson aspect of all this. What capacity was Ganson acting in to refer it to the match review panel? Has it been reported anywhere that Ganson was the one who actually referred it?