In real time…..
Or on the video replay….
Or on the first appeal…..
Or on the second appeal….
?????

"Tonight’s tribunal accepted that while there was some twisting to apply pressure to the limb of an opposing player, this did not exceed the normal range of movement and therefore could not have posed an ‘unacceptable risk of injury"

...
From the RFL Twitter account

To stand out as the worst disciplinary decision of all time takes some doing but this managed it. Corruption, plain and simple.

Absolute joke, saints pull out the saints get out of jail free card again in the judiciary panel! That was as frivolous an appeal that there has ever been and the ban gets overturned! Wow. The incompetence is just astounding.

Whilst I was surprised they overturned it on a second appeal, the decision is clearly correct. Take the club element out of it and look objectively at the position the arm was put into. It wouldn't have hurt Atkin and there was no force involved. It's definitely a penalty and I agree with the yellow card as it stopped a quick play the ball near the line, but missing the Grand Final for that would be wrong. Saints were also able to demonstrate very similar if not worse incidents from this season that were also not banned.

It's also not the first time a player has been cleared to play in a Grand Final after being banned. Lee Smith for Leeds was cleared to play on appeal after being given a 4 game ban for kicking a player in the head. That maybe puts Knowles' (stupid but not dangerous) act into perspective?

I don't think any player has ever been banned from a Grand Final in Super League (I could be wrong).

Well at least you can't use the decimated squad excuse if Leeds turn you over.

How can you possibly know that? The arm was deliberately moved into an unnatural position; it wasn't an attempt to slow the ptb down, it was a nasty act that is totally against the spirit of the game.

No, that's scientifically wrong. That has been clarified during the hearing tonight and that being proven as a fact is what got Knowles off. The movement was proven to be within the natural range of motion of an arm and therefore is not chargeable as an offense as it could not be causing an unacceptable risk of injury. The ref is positioned to the left of Atkin as Knowles looks. He's hidden from the referee by Atkin's body, he's trying to hold him and prevent him playing the ball as the ref can't see him holding him, Atkin spins out of it to bring it to the referee's attention. If there had been ill intent from Knowles he could quite easily have yanked it to the right or pulled him down with force, but he didn't. Maybe he considered it, I can't prove he didn't, but he didn't actually carry it out. They've accepted that he should not have been charged in the first place.

Leeds may as well not turn up for the final, stains name is already engraved on trophy.

JOKE

Leeds have a great chance of winning the game. They battered Wigan last week.

I was actually going to post ‘even Saddened can’t defend this one’ I’m wrong again, is he a parody act? Laughable.