Claims of historic racism and bias have emerged, as tensions between the NZ Warriors and NRL referees escalate.
The Warriors are slipping out of playoff contention, after consecutive losses to the Parramatta Eels and Canberra Raiders. They currently sit 12th on the NRL ladder, just three points outside the top eight, but facing a tough run home over their final five games.
But the Auckland-based club has clearly been on the sharp end of several contentious referee decisions that have likely cost them victories this season, knocking the scabs off old wounds from its 25-year existence.
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Last week, NRL head of football Graham Annesley admitted key calls went against the Warriors in their loss to the Eels, two of which led to Parramatta tries.
But Kiwis league legend Mark Graham has told Stuff the injustice is nothing new, relating an incident that occurred during his two-year tenure (1999-2000) as Warriors coach.
"I knew that every game we ran out, we were playing uphill and were likely going to get a bad rub of the green," Graham said. "But one game, in particular, I will never forget."
After a Polynesian player was sent off for foul play, referees forgot to turn off their microphones during the half-time break and Graham obtained an audio recording of them discussing the incident.
"They were talking and one said, 'did you think it was really that high?'," he told Stuff. "Someone responded, 'who cares, he's just a black c*** '.
"I was very angry, disappointed. It saddened me, because that's the way a team who were always so respectful to referees were spoken about."
Warriors management reported the incident to NRL bosses, but then-chief executive Trevor McKewen claims they were more concerned over how the audio fell into the club's hands than what was said.
While the incident occurred almost two decades ago, McKewen told Stuff it added fuel to the lingering belief that the Warriors suffered from disrespect and prejudice over the years.
"I do think the referees take the easy option on a lot of 50-50 calls, subconsciously, which is to ping the Warriors," he said.
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