After a protracted appeals process ultimately proved unsuccessful, Wests Tigers and Lebanon five-eighth Adam Doueihi has spoken out about his ban for dissent, maintaining that he never used the word referee Grant Atkins accused him of speaking.
Doueihi has been suspended for one match following his second-half dismissal against the Kiwis, and due to a technical error that meant audio of the incident could not be clearly obtained during the initial hearing, the judiciary panel ultimately sided with the referee.
The Cedars' next game is their most important as well, a must-win clash against Ireland that's expected to be the closest of the encounters in Group B and will ultimately determine who progresses to the knock-out stage.
But while he has accepted the judiciary's verdict, Doueihi still insists he never employed the language in question.
โGrant heard what he thought he heard,โ Doueihi told the Daily Telegraph.
โIt went to the judiciary and we had four or five witnesses on our side all saying the same thing.
โAt the end of the day I wasn't successful and they listened to the ref over us. It's frustrating for me that it's in the media now, what's alleged to have been said.
โI don't want my name seen in that way. That's why I was fighting so hard to get it changed. It's not a good look. I have a very clean reputation in the NRL.
โNever in my career (have I been sent off). It's definitely not in me.
โIt didn't go my way, but it's definitely not what I said.
โThe reason they didn't allow the argument from us was (because) I didn't argue when he sent me off, which sort of contradicts itself.
โThey expected me to go up and start giving Grant (Atkins) a spray. There was some video footage that wasn't available in our first hearing but was in the second, which sees me throw my hands up in the air a few times.
โWe were always told that once a decision is made there's zero chance of it being overturned. I've never seen a send-off overturned in the history of the NRL.
โAs soon as I found out about (the allegation) I went up to Grant's office and reassured him I didn't say that.
โTo think I'm going to challenge Grant and make myself look like an idiot, doesn't make sense to me.
โThis competition only comes once every four years, so to miss out on a crucial game for us personally is disappointing, but I know the 17 who go out this weekend are going to do everything to get the result.โ
The crucial game between Lebanon and Luke Keary's Ireland kicks off on Monday morning at 12.30am (AEDT).
