the sooner we revert back to the rules in which when the ball is place on the ground by the hand in control not including little pinkie tries sooner the better,
the rules have been distorted now for years and we have lost control of the game through slow mo pictures

More from McManus,

rlhttps://www.saintsrlfc.com/2019/09/01/statement-chairman-strongly-reiterates-view-on-wembley-referee-selection/?utm_source

St.Helens R.F.C. Chairman, Eamonn McManus, has reaffirmed his view on the RFL’s selection of Robert Hicks as the match referee for the Coral Challenge Cup Final as being unwise and inappropriate given the worrisome background events that occurred.
Following the RFL’s statement that they will be referring the Saints’ Chairman’s matchday programme comments to their Compliance Team, McManus has released the following statement:

“My matchday programme notes seem to have created a lot of heat and light, which is probably a good thing as the core issue at hand could not be more serious for our game.

“Firstly I reiterate my expressed congratulations to Warrington Wolves who were worthy winners of the Challenge Cup.

“I was very clearly making the point that Robert Hicks had been placed in an invidious position due to recent death threats from a Warrington fan and his subsequent close dealings with that fan and the Warrington Club in the period leading up to the Challenge Cup Final. He also appeared voluntarily on an ITV interview shortly before the game to explain this experience in some detail to express how upset he and his family had been by this.

“It is impossible to assess to what extent he had been emotionally affected by this during his high profile dealings with Warrington and their fan. For that reason he should not have been appointed in such a high pressure and demanding and game in which Warrington were a participating club. Perceptions of even handedness and impartiality are as important as reality. This can be no more so than in the instance of refereeing where integrity and the perception of integrity is paramount. No other professional sport would have made such an appointment given these prior disturbing events and facts.

“It was therefore inevitable that his decisions would be under heightened scrutiny from both sets of fans and that any incorrect decisions would be questioned at accentuated levels, particularly if any were inexplicable. This unfortunate and predictable scenario did indeed eventuate, and to the benefit of no one. It was entirely avoidable and should indeed have been avoided.

“I am certainly not causing anger by legitimately expressing my firmly held views, which are based on fact, common sense and good practice. I am merely reflecting very widely held views. I can only hope that some very obvious lessons are learnt from this by the RFL. We will continue our discussions with them on this and other related matters, at all the appropriate levels.

“I also look forward to hearing from the RFL’s Compliance team to which it seems I have been referred, although I have not been informed why and for what.”

McManus and the club will be making no further comment on this matter at this time.

The only people questioning Hicks’ appointment is McManus.
No neutral person has expressed any concern. Either before or since.
Crucially If saints had won I doubt neither would McManus be questioning it.

There’s a thread on TRL with a mention of Walmsley paying the ball incorrectly prior to the no-try call.

Watching the match back you can see he doesn’t get up before he plays it so should have been a Warrington penalty.

Whats McManus’ views on that one I wonder? Conveniently ignored?

So he’s continuing to accuse Hicks of cheating because he made “inexplicable” decisions that favoured Warrington. His claim is that because Hicks received a death threat from a Warrington supporter, he made incorrect decisions in their favour.
He’s getting himself in deeper water. Clubs cannot accuse officials of cheating. He can say he thought Hicks’ contact with Warrington was inappropriate I think, but not that it resulted in the the referee cheating.
The man seems to have completely lost the plot. I have seen nobody but him question the impartiality of the referee.

Had Saints won, McManus would have said nothing.

McManus and the club should not have made the comments in the first place, this reply confirms that he realises he cocked up.

Clearly McManus knew that Hicks' appointment was a terrible one and I'm sure he voiced such a strong opinion before the CC Final.

I presume he released a statement before the final. Can anyone find one? Anyone? No?

There's bound to be one, otherwise he'd have known he'd come across as a sour, little man.

Wow. Someone at St Helens needs to grow a pair and tell McManus to STFU.

He’s doing his club no good whatsoever. That statement comes across like a petty messageboard post where someone goes “my posts are based in fact and I’m not going to answer you anymore if you keep challenging me. I have a right to my beliefs however batsh|t they may be.”

I think you have been sucked in and are missing the bigger picture!

I’m intrigued what the bigger picture is?

The only people to have been sucked in are the Saints fans blindly defending their clubs’ Chairman’s bizarre comments.

Okay Judder Man, explain this -

Why didn’t McManus raise concerns about the “impartiality” of the appointment of Hicks a week or so before the final?