Sharks owner Marco Masotti has criticised the United Rugby Championship following a contested scrum decision in his side’s loss to the Ospreys last weekend.
In the second half, with Springbok props Ox Nche and Vincent Koch on the field, the Sharks began dominating the set-piece. After a scrum in which they pushed the Ospreys back on their own ball, Garyn Phillips was forced to leave the field for a head injury assessment.
With the Ospreys having no prop cover on the bench after their starting props had gone off injured, the referee ruled uncontested scrums. The Welsh side was reduced to 14 men as a result.
The decision removed a significant attacking option for the Sharks, and although they had a player advantage, they failed to score the winning points.
Masotti posted on social media on Thursday expressing his dissatisfaction.
“I walked into the Bridgend stadium last Saturday and felt the spirit of rugby with so many Welsh legends plastered on the walls — only to leave with the spirit of Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ following the uncontested scrums,” Masotti wrote.
“The integrity of our URC league demands better.
“Is anyone involved willing to submit to a lie detector test?
“I am sure our fans will offer a reward to anyone who comes forward with information.”
Sharks coach JP Pietersen told the media that the Sharks had requested clarification from the URC regarding the uncontested scrum decision.
“We had a review meeting with the head of refereeing at the URC. And yeah, the matter was dealt with. We got all our answers to our questions,” Pietersen said.
“It’s obviously a confidential chat with us and everything.
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“We can ask questions, and we’ll get answers. At the end of the day, they did investigate it, and they came up with the answer. And yeah, we move on.”
The Sharks face Edinburgh on Friday night with their playoff chances uncertain.
Kick-off is at 20:45.
SOURCE: KickOff
