{"id":699584,"date":"2026-05-28T07:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T07:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/699584\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T07:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T07:52:09","slug":"queensland-launches-referee-protest-in-all-time-state-of-origin-dummy-spit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/699584\/","title":{"rendered":"Queensland launches referee protest in all-time State of Origin dummy spit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queenslanders aren\u2019t taking their Game 1 defeat to NSW well. <\/p>\n

On the back of losing the opening match on Wednesday night, Queensland media have created a petition to prevent veteran referee Ashley Klein from further Origin duties.<\/p>\n

The movement comes after Klein controversially sent off Kalyn Ponga in the 57th minute <\/a>for a tackle that left Blues debutant Tolu Koula concussed.<\/p>\n

The decision, which came when Queensland were 20-6 up, proved costly, with NSW legend Andrew Johns labelling it \u201coutrageous\u201d, while Queensland icon Darren Lockyer was \u201cin shock\u201d.<\/p>\n

Klein appeared to overrule his Bunker official<\/a>, who seemed to suggest a sin bin would have sufficed for Ponga\u2019s shot on Koula. <\/p>\n

However, as you can see in the video above, Klein didn\u2019t see it that way. \u201cI get that mate, but he\u2019s hit him in the head there with no attempt to tackle. I know what you\u2019re saying, but it\u2019s an illegal play,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Ponga<\/p>\n

The fact he overruled the Bunker saw Queensland fans cry foul, with Brisbane newspaper The Courier-Mail launching a petition to get Klein banned from Origin games<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Courier-Mail is calling for Ashley Klein to be axed as State of Origin referee after his controversial call to send off Kalyn Ponga on Wednesday night. Ponga was sent off by Klein in the 57th minute for a shoulder charge on Tolu Koula in the Maroons\u2019 heartbreaking Origin I loss at Sydney\u2019s Accor Stadium,\u201d the petition reads.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe match was Klein\u2019s 13th consecutive Origin in charge and his 21st overall. Today, The Courier-Mail is calling for it to be his last.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a matter of hours the petition has received almost 10,000 signatures, with Queenslanders being as level-headed as ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision ultimately gave QLD no chance to win the game and completely ruined the game for me. Ashley Klein is born and raised in western Sydney and clearly lacks the ability to be fair and impartial,\u201d one angry Queenslander wrote on the petition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe unfairness of Kalyn Ponga being sent of the remainder of the game instead of just being give a 10 minute sin bin and NSW having tackles that should have been penalised,\u201d another clearly unbiased fan added.<\/p>\n

While a couple of others called for former Maroons star Corey Parker to ref. \u201cLet Corey Parker ref,\u201d one declared on the petition.<\/p>\n

Parker addressed the Klein call on SEN on Thursday and he hadn\u2019t calmed down overnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrigin has been going for 46 years, and there have been seven send-offs in history. Ashley Klein has been responsible for four of them,\u201d Parker said on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Reece) Walsh and (Jarome) Luai in 2023, which was garbage, (Joseph) Suaali\u2019i a year after and now Ponga. Disaster. It has such an effect on the result.<\/p>\n

\u201cI called the game, I was measured, and I have now had time to digest.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter digesting what I witnessed, the still shots we have seen and the wording that goes with it is incorrect.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bunker thought it was incorrect. Klein was still adamant. He called illegal play.<\/p>\n

\u201cHang on a second, if we have this $22m (Bunker) facility with cameras everywhere, then take a leaf out of their book. Surely that\u2019s the last big game Klein gets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maroons great Darren Lockyer was equally frustrated with Klein.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still in shock over that Ponga decision, that\u2019s the turning point, there will be a lot of people north of the border that struggle with that decision,\u201d Lockyer moaned.<\/p>\n

\u201c \u2026 I think Ashley Klein, at the start, when he first (saw) it and heard it, I think he always had this in his mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I am surprised at, when it went up to the bunker and they\u2019ve reviewed, the bunker was suggesting that it was only 10 minutes. But Ashley Klein didn\u2019t want a bar of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ponga<\/p>\n

Former Maroons captain Cameron Smith also insisted there was \u201cno way\u201d that the fullback should have been sent off on Channel Nine.<\/p>\n

The latest drama comes after Klein was criticised heavily for a lopsided penalty count favouring Queensland in Game 2 of last year\u2019s State of Origin series.<\/p>\n

On the back of an eight-to-nothing penalty count, Queensland charged to a 26-6 halftime lead before holding on to 26-24.<\/p>\n

It was a loss that would prove crucial, with the Maroons winning the series decider to take the Origin shield. But it appears Queenslanders have a short memory.<\/p>\n

Klein is currently the most experienced active State of Origin referee available for selection.<\/p>\n

Having controlled over 400 NRL games, he is tied with legendary ref Bill Harrigan for officiating a whopping 21 Origin matches.<\/p>\n

\""Is<\/p>\n

However, despite the uproar Ponga and Billy Slater had little problem with the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is what it is,\u201d Slater said during his post-match press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t got any problems with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is okay. He feels he has let his team down. Those things happen in games, and they happen really quick. I\u2019ve played that position, I know how hard it is, and in the spur of the moment, things happen, it\u2019s wet out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Ponga said, \u201c \u201cAt the end of the day, it is what it is. The ref made the call.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next Origin clash will take place on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Originally published as Queensland launches referee protest in all-time State of Origin dummy spit<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queenslanders aren\u2019t taking their Game 1 defeat to NSW well. On the back of losing the opening match…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":699585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-699584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=699584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/699585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=699584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=699584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=699584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}