Former NZ Warriors star Reece Walsh has found himself in hot water over a foul-mouthed spray at the referee during his Brisbane Broncos' side's defeat to Gold Coast Titans on Sunday.
Walsh was penalised in the final stages of the 18-12 loss at Suncorp Stadium for alleged abuse towards referee Chris Butler - an expletive-laden rant, which was picked up by the on-field broadcast microphones.
The fullback had to be escorted away from the referee by his teammates, who attempted to calm him down to prevent any further punishment.
The incident has since been referred to the NRL judiciary for review on an upgraded contrary conduct charge.
Walsh will discover his fate later on Tuesday, with the possibility a ban could rule him out of the third and final State of Origin in Sydney on July 12.
The 20-year-old has taken to social media to plead his innocence, claiming his tirade was directed at one of the Titans players and not referee Butler.
"Yesterday whilst on the field I swore at another player," he wrote in an Instagram post.
"Whilst I don't promote this language to be directed at anybody, I would never direct this type of language towards a referee.
"I understand how it may look and I’ve reached out to Chris Butler to apologize if he thought I was speaking to him.
"And whilst I am not proud of this and want to put it behind me, I also wanted to let the public, and in particular young kids playing the game know that I would never swear at a referee and neither should anybody else – they do a great job and play a huge role in making rugby league the best game in the world."
Broncos captain Adam Reynolds supports Walsh's claims.
"Show the full clip. Was talking to a player on the other team," Reynolds commented on social media in a post that referred to the incident.
The incident comes less than a week after he was fined 23 percent of his match fee after being sent off for a headbutt on Blues half Jarome Luai late in Queensland's series-clinching win.
While a member of the Warriors in 2021, Walsh was fined $5000 and suspended by the NRL after he was arrested in Surfers Paradise for cocaine possession.
Last year, Walsh was released early from his two-year deal with the Warriors to rejoin the Broncos.
