Why? The RFL has set up an independent disciplinary committee and has an appeals process that is legally correct and is accepted by the constituent clubs.
The Referee and TJ have seen an incident at the time and acted on what they saw - Bailey's contact with Radford is obviously up for debate even with the hindsight of video replay. Radford clearly punched Bailey several times, which is a red card offence. Not too much wrong with what happened on the field, hence what's it got to do with Stuart Cummings?
Obviously the second panel who reviewed tha appeal differed from the first panel. This is a consequence of the independent process and also happens in our law courts.
Read and learn
Farce from Start
Firstly we had referees interpreting punching differently and having a major impact on the outcome of RL matches and the final placings of the League. Radford was sent off. Seemingly, this is the latest edict from Cummings. In the opinion of most fans, most neutral and many ex professional players, this was a bad decision and typical of the over reaction that characterises Ian Smith. However, if Smith was following instruction and it would be fair to assume he was (he is not the first referee to dismiss players for punching in recent weeks) then the blame lies with Cummings. That decision cost Hull a win IMO and impacted on the league placings of Hull and Leeds. The very same weekend, Paul Wellens was not sent off for an identical scenario by Ben Thaler. One was right and the other was wrong depending upon what the officials have been instructed by Cummings. Thaler's decision impacted upon Castleford and Crusaders greatly but also Saints and Wire. So we had a vital weekend of matches where referees were critical in determining outcomes with glaring inconsistency.
We now pay our referees a very good income. We were assured by Stuart Cummings that full time officials would equate to better officiating. These officials now have 100% time / focus / energy working as a collective group YET they are still inconsistent and worse than in previous seasons. The standard in 2010 has been awful. So on that basis the person in charge, Cummings needs to go.
A word on the farce for sending players off for punching. NO player IIRC has ever been hurt badly by a fight. Fans may say otherwise but they get excited by a bit of biff. Our sport is a physical contest of real strength nowhere more than in the front row. Here we had the first 10 minutes of a vital highly charged contest and such things happen. A sin bin for both players would have sufficed and been far better. IMAGINE the best RL spectacle, the State of Origin. Had Ian Smith made such a farcical decision in one of those game the Aussies would not have been throwing beer cans at him, they would have lynched him. In the NRL, officials are held genuinely accountable by the media (our is spineless) but also by the sport itself. In recent weeks 2 NRL match officials have been dropped and whatsmore one, Bill Harrigan came out and said I got it wrong, I need to pay the price. Robert Finch - Cummings in the NRL will come out and say the referee got it wrong. Such actions never happen here.
Ryan Bailey was not even warned for an attempted head but. Farcical given the present RFL stance.
The judiciary. Yes we have an appeal procedure and I am livid that my own club seems to operate a no appeal policy because IMO EVERY club must appeal from now on because the discrepancy was farcical.
People talk about the courts of law having the right of appeal but that normally requires new evidence does it not? Here we had a RFL panel watching / listening to a case and giving a decision. A fresh panel 24 hours later watching / listening to exactly the same case a giving a completely diffierent decision. Imagine if that happened in a Court of Law. It would not and there is an overiding expectation that the law of the land is consistently applied otherwise uproar would ensue. Yet in RL we celebrate INCONSISTENCY which IMO is a farce.
We have no media holding the game to account and many fans are blind.
