Ivan Cleary has slammed the decision to send Liam Martin to the sin bin against the Melbourne Storm, with the Panthers coach labelling the call as “really harsh”.

Minutes before the half-time break, Martin was given his marching orders after being penalised for a professional foul on opposing fullback Sua Fa’alogo.

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As Fa’alogo attempted to burst through a gap in the defence and chase after his own kick, Martin appeared to close the gap on the Storm star.

However, Cleary was left stunned by the decision, questioning whether Martin’s action warranted a stint in the sin bin.

“It’s pretty harsh, like really harsh,” Cleary said post-match after his side held on to a 22-14 win at AAMI Park.

“I don’t understand. That’s not a professional foul. It’s pretty clear to me but it’s been happening (and) coming for a while.

“There’s been a few of those, I reckon, but anyway it’s not my business.

“But they’re big calls because they make a huge difference in the game.”

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The Panthers coach doubled down on his criticism of the decision, arguing that Martin’s actions were not deliberate and therefore did not warrant the professional foul ruling.

He also suggested the decision could have cost Penrith the game, with his side forced to defend for extended periods while down a man.

“A professional foul is actually a deliberate act. That wasn’t, obviously. I don’t want to sit here and be a victim of the referees because you can’t control that,” Cleary added.

“It was a tough night for us in that respect. As I said it had a huge impact on the possession and field position and trying to defend all that with 12 men for a lot of the second half, and 11 for a while there too.

“It makes it difficult. It was similar to a game against the Broncos a few weeks ago where we just had no ball, no field position.

“Lost that one but we’re able to hang on tonight.”