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Australian Rugby League Commission boss Peter V’landys has passionately defended the bizarre decision to ban Taylan May but let the Penrith winger compete in the NRL finals series.
May was found guilty of assault last week after he was charged for an incident on the Sunshine Coast. He was seen coming to the aid of Panthers teammate Nathan Cleary, who said that the victim had been causing a nuisance all night long.
The incident – which took place at the Duporth Tavern on the Sunshine Coast – resulted in a small fine and compensatory payout to the victim, with the NRL handing down its own punishment on Tuesday, which was a two-game suspension.
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May, though, doesn’t have to serve the ban until the start of next NRL season. It means he is free to represent the Panthers in the upcoming finals.
“We will consider the fans,” V’landys told 9News about allowing a suspended play to participate in finals.
“A lot of ex players look at it through a player’s lense, we look at it through everyones’ lense, and the most important person at the moment is the fan.
“Why penalise Penrith fans for an indiscretion that the player did? The person that should be paying the penalty is the player, and (May) will, because he will miss two matches and a substantial part of his salary.
Cleary sprung to the defence of May, saying that the fallout from the incident in Queensland last year served as a timely reminder on player behaviour.
“I felt sorry for him going through it all,” Cleary told reporters.
“You obviously feel for your mate that has to go through stuff like that and the scrutiny around it, as we kind of touched on there’s lessons to be learned and I’ll always respect Taylan.
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“He’s a great kid and if you know him personally you’ll know that too.”
“There are always going to be those kinds of people who are trying to get under your skin but that’s the life we live,” he said.
“We’ve got to deal with it the right way. Being a rugby league player is a very privileged job but it’s also a 24/7 job.”
Penrith’s star halfback said that it was “great” that their young winger was free to play in this Friday’s crunch game against the Eels.
“You want your best players on the park and he’s been massive for us this year,” Cleary said.
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