Lebanon five-eighth Adam Doueihi was sensationally sent off after an altercation with referee Grant Atkins, which involved trainer Robbie Farah in their 34-12 loss to New Zealand.
In the 59th minute of Lebanon’s World Cup opener against the Kiwis, Atkins marched Doueihi after he and Robbie Farah reportedly exchanged words with the referee.
Andrew Voss summed up the confusion surrounding the bizarre send-off in the commentary box.
Watch every match of the Rugby League World Cup LIVE & Exclusive to Fox Sports, on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
MORE NRL NEWS
‘MIGHT BE DONE’: DCE fails to keep Cleary at bay; Mal’s ‘unbelievable’ dilemma
GRANT AND FOXX SHOW: Kangaroos thrash Fiji to begin WC defence in style
SAMOA STUNNED: England put 10 tries on Samoa in ‘staggering’ World Cup warning
CASUALTY WARD: Kangaroos sweat on Cotter after head clash; Samoa’s triple blow
“I think the trainer Robbie Farah has been sent off here,” Voss said. “Robbie Farah has been sent off by referee Atkins.
“Well this is interesting Adam Doueihi is going to the sideline. What has happened here?
“Doueihi has been sent off. Adam Doueihi has gone off the field, so there is some drama here for Lebanon and they are down a man now.
“It seemed like a very frustrated referee Grant Atkins there.
“Was it dissent? You can only imagine that he got both barrels from both player and trainer I’m not sure.”
Moments later after the Kiwis scored Voss confirmed the reason for the bizarre send off.
“Confirmation it was dissent from Adam Doueihi,” Voss said.
“I just wonder with the circumstances of it. It was short kick-off and play was just going to keep going, but Grant Atkins reacted.
“It must have been quite the gobful.”
Lebanon stunned the Kiwis early, opening the scoring for the Cedars after just a minute’s play, pouncing on a ball after the deflection of a teasing Mitchell Moses grubber.
Skipper Jesse Bromwich barrelled through and touched down over his head in quick response for the Kiwis, whose sole World Cup title came in 2008 at the expense of the all-conquering Australia.
New Zealand added first-half tries through Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Peta Hiku, with all three converted by Jordan Rapana.
But Lebanon came out firing in the second period, running through their sets with patience and eventually seeing Wigan winger Abbas Miski touch down one-handed in the corner.
Moses, fresh from a losing NRL Grand Final appearance with Parramatta Eels, was successful with the touchline conversion.
Rapana snuffed out a potential Lebanese try after a clever Mansour cross-kick and immediately the Kiwis countered, Manu accelerating into space up the field and finding Dylan Brown on his inside for a welcome try.
Manu then turned the game on its head, the Sydney Roosters back gathering his own audacious chip from dummy-half, spinning past a first defender and fending off three more for a fantastic individual try.
Lebanon were served a further blow as playmaker Adam Doueihi was sent off for dissent just minutes later and from the reset the Kiwis made sure of the win when Rapana stepped back through some weak defence for his team’s sixth try after a looping Manu pass.
