Panthers coach Ivan Cleary avoided questions about the suspended ban his young gun winger Taylan May received for assaulting a man.
But Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou made his thoughts clear, saying “it murks the water” if the NRL can “pick and choose” when a player serves their suspension.
It comes as the NRL has been called on to sanction Bulldogs football manager Phil Gould for tweeting that May “should be congratulated” for his actions.
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May was handed the ban after being found guilty of assault occasioning bodily harm by Maroochydore Magistrates Court last week, following an incident on the Sunshine Coast in October.
The NRL’s decision to suspend the ban to allow May to play in finals was blasted on Wednesday, with NRL 360’s Paul Kent calling it “disgraceful management.”
Cleary, on Thursday, was asked about the suspended ban but danced around the question.
“I think some people think he shouldn’t be suspended at all as well. The NRL has made their decision, so we just get on with it,” he said.
Asked if he could understand the frustration and outrage around the NRL’s decision, Cleary said: “No, not really.
“The NRL has made a decision, it happens all the time, it happens every week, so you just get on with it,” he added.
Cleary was then pressed on whether May should have been suspended at all. He did not answer the question directly and instead threw his support behind the 21-year-old, saying he was “just trying to defuse an incident.”
“I’m not going to comment on that other than I support Taylan,” Cleary said.
“This incident happened when he had played one game of first grade. It was 12 months ago, he was sober and just trying to defuse an incident.
“Obviously he was a little, potentially, strong-handed but he certainly didn’t mean to do anything other than defuse the situation.
“It’s been dealt with in court, the NRL has made a call and we’re happy to abide by it.”
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Fox League’s James Hooper said on NRL 360 that Cleary had “been drinking the Kool-Aid” if he believes May was just defusing a situation, while Paul Kent said Cleary had “tried to be cute by not answering the question.”
“I’ve got to disagree with Ivan’s version of defusing a situation,” he said.
“Ivan kind of avoided the issue. The issue isn’t whether (May) should have gotten two matches or not, the issue is the suspension of the two matches and Ivan didn’t address that.
“If he hadn’t been suspended or just fined, most of us would have probably would have copped that.
“We might have had a little sook and said they’re being very light… Certainly when you put it in comparison to say Anthony Milford, who had charges dismissed in court yet sat out for six weeks and cost him a fortune.”
NRL 360 host Braith Anasta believes Cleary’s comments “probably don’t help the situation,” but Hooper acknowledged that he’s in a tough situation as coach.
Meanwhile, Kent believes the NRL are “embarrassed” about their decision which has been questioned by many but also revealed they won’t be commenting publicly on it.
“The fact is the NRL I think are embarrassed about this decision,” he said.
“I was at function today and I spoke to (Peter) V’landys and (Andrew) Abdo there, I said to them ‘is there a chance you guys come out and say we’ve had a review and this won’t be happening again,’ the answer was no.”
Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou, on NRL 360, was asked for his thoughts about the NRL’s decision to suspend bans and laughed as he said “it would have been good if we did that last year.”
“But on a serious note, we talk about letting the fans have players play so they can play in finals, but Patrick Carrigan’s suspension pretty much ended Brisbane’s season,” he added.
“I’m sure Brisbane would have liked him to be available for a couple of extra games — they probably would have been playing finals this year.
“So it’s an interesting one, it’s not something I agree with, that’s not to say I agree with the suspension either. I think if you’re suspensed, you’re suspended. I think it murks the water if you try and pick and choose when a play can and can’t be suspended.
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However one person that believes May shouldn’t have received a suspension at all is Gould, who said in a tweet that it was “hardly a serious matter” and that the young winger “should be congratulated.”
That sparked News Corp journalist Michael Carayannis to declare that Gould should be sanctioned for his comments.
“The fact that an official of a club said that May should be congratulated. The NRL should sanction Gus,” he said on NRL 360.
“If they had any gumption, they’d sanction him — he is a club official.
“That’s worse than what Ivan said. To say that someone should be congratulated for assaulting a man and we’re OK with that?”
